Meta Platforms, the company formerly known as Facebook, faces continued legal action after a US judge rejected its attempt to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest. The lawsuit centers around fraudulent cryptocurrency ads featuring Forrest’s image that were displayed on Facebook.
Forrest alleges that Meta failed to adequately vet the advertisements, which used deepfake technology to make it appear as if he was endorsing the crypto schemes. These deceptive ads caused reputational damage to Forrest, according to the lawsuit.
Meta attempted to shield itself from liability using Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law that protects online platforms from being held responsible for content posted by users. However, Judge Casey Pitts of the California District Court ruled that Meta’s actions could potentially fall outside the protections offered by Section 230.
Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest says he will spend ‘whatever it takes’ after securing a strategic win in a US court where he is suing the Facebook owner for failing to stop scams using his name: https://t.co/FEarnbmThE pic.twitter.com/TbSdRBjWhB
— The Australian (@australian) June 19, 2024
The judge highlighted Meta’s potential negligence in allowing the fraudulent ads to be displayed. Forrest’s lawsuit argues that Meta failed to uphold its responsibility to operate in a “commercially reasonable manner” by not having sufficient safeguards in place to prevent such scams.
