The Australian Competition Authority has initiated legal action against Facebook parent company Meta. The company is alleged to have published misleading advertisements for cryptocurrencies. The ads would have led to fraudulent sites with the help of celebrities as testimonials.
Facebook parent company Meta is facing charges of misleading cryptocurrency in Australia. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has initiated a corresponding complaint.
According to the complaint, the company had approved advertisements that used celebrities as testimonials to redirect users to fraudulent websites. The ads also suggested that famous Australians were endorsing cryptocurrency investments on the websites, the ACCC said in a statement.
Meta approves misleading ads on cryptocurrencies
According to the Australian Competition Authority, Facebook users were redirected to fraudulent pages with the help of ads that contained quotes from celebrities and recommended that users sign up. Fraudsters then urged users to deposit their money in fake cryptosystems.
The statement goes on to say, “The allegation is that Meta knew that the celebrity endorsed cryptocurrency scam ads were displayed on Facebook, but did not take sufficient steps to address the issue.”
As reported by Reuters news agency, Meta expressed that any form of advertising that misleads or cheats user:ins out of their money violates its in-house policies. The company also uses appropriate technology to detect and block such posts.
Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman affected
Zuckerberg Group said that the company had so far cooperated with the authority on the matter, adding, “We will review the ACCC’s recent complaint and intend to defend against the proceedings.
According to the ACCC, the ads would have advertised images of several Australian business leaders, presenters and politicians. They would also have contained fake quotes and links to fake websites. According to Australian media reports, the celebrities include Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman.
Facebook wants to train Australian politicians for the election campaign
It also concerned Australian businessman and billionaire Andrew Forrest, who had already taken legal action against Meta in a similar case in February. He, too, argued that Meta had not taken appropriate measures to stop fake and misleading advertisements.
As the election campaign for the federal elections is currently underway in Australia, Meta announced a few days ago that it would train Australian politicians in cyber security. The aim is to prevent misinformation and falsified opinions.
