Santa Clara County in California has sued Meta Platforms. The county accuses the social media giant of making money from fake ads on Facebook and Instagram. This is said to violate California laws against misleading ads and unfair business practices.
The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County. It claims Meta allows scam ads to run widely on its platforms. The suit represents all California residents.
The county wants money back for people affected. It also wants a court order to stop Meta from using unfair business tactics. Reuters reported on the case.
Internal documents, first revealed by Reuters last year, are mentioned in the complaint. The lawsuit claims Meta made up to $7 billion each year from "high-risk" ads. These ads often show clear signs of being fraudulent.
The county argues that Meta did not act strongly against scam advertisers. Instead, the company allegedly created "safeguards." These might have stopped efforts to reduce scams if they cost Meta too much money.
Meta plans to fight this lawsuit. A spokesperson for Meta, Andy Stone, stated that the claims are based on Reuters reports. He said the reports misrepresent Meta's motives. He also said they ignore the many actions Meta takes daily to fight scams.
Stone added, "We strongly fight scams on our platforms and elsewhere. This is because scams harm us and the people and businesses that use our services."