Following child safety violations, Meta is now facing a new lawsuit alleging that it profits from fake advertisements targeting the elderly and vulnerable users. The Santa Clara City Administration in California has filed a lawsuit, claiming that Meta knowingly failed to prevent the spread of fake ads on Facebook and Instagram.
elchi reports that regional officials allege Meta is financially benefiting from the ecosystem of fake ads on its platforms. The lawsuit claims that fraudulent advertisers have spent billions of dollars on Meta’s advertising systems to promote their deceptive schemes.
Internal communications and warnings were ignored
In the legal process led by District Attorney Tony LoPresti, it is stated that although internal discussions at Meta raised concerns about the scale of fake ads, the company failed to prevent repeated violations. The complaint alleges that Meta allowed weaknesses in its moderation systems and advertising policies to persist, generating billions of dollars in revenue from fake content each year. A recent report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate also found that Medicare-focused scam campaigns targeting the elderly generated millions of dollars in ad revenue for Facebook.
Meta denies the allegations
A Meta spokesperson stated that the claims misrepresent the company’s efforts to combat fraud and deceptive advertising and that they will challenge the lawsuit in court. According to the company’s data, more than 159 million fraudulent ads were removed from the platform last year, and additional security tools have been implemented in cooperation with law enforcement agencies worldwide.
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