Meta Fails to Dismiss Australian Billionaire's Lawsuit over Fraudulent Facebook Ads
Summary:
A US judge has dismissed Meta Platforms' attempt to have a lawsuit from Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest discarded. The lawsuit pertains to fraudulent cryptocurrency advertisements on Facebook that employed deep fake images of Forrest. It allows Forrest to resubmit his suit, arguing Meta's non-compliance in preventing these advertisements and thus failing to meet commercially reasonable standards. The ruling marks a noteworthy instance where a social media company has been unable to use Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act as a defense against civil liability claims in its advertising operations.
A bid by Meta Platforms to have a lawsuit from Australian billionaire miner Andrew Forrest thrown out has been denied by a US judge. The legal action revolves around fraudulent crypto ads that have used deep fake images of Forrest on Facebook. Judge Casey Pitts from the District of California stated on June 17 that Forrest could modify and resubmit his suit to convincingly argue that Meta neglected its responsibility to prevent the misleading ads, thereby failing to maintain a "commercially reasonable" operating standard.
Meta contended that the platform was exempt from liability as the publisher of third-party content according to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. This is an argument that has previously been ineffective for YouTube in trying to dodge responsibility for misleading crypto ads. This 30-year-old law rules that a provider of an "interactive computer service" won't be treated "as the publisher... of any information provided by another information content provider." However, Judge Pitts found that Meta hadn't conclusively shown that Section 230 offered it complete protection from the charges put forward by Forrest.
"This is a groundbreaking moment in US civil court history where a social media company's use of Section 230 as a shield from civil liability for its advertising business tactics hasn't been successful," Forrest informed The Australian. "The ruling opens up the possibility for us to demonstrate in court that Facebook has and should stop fraudulent ads from appearing on its site while declining any accountability," he further stated.
Judge Pitts' directive states that Forrest, in his updated lawsuit, can attempt to demonstrate that his name and likeness were misused by Meta in addition to those parties behind the fraudulent ads. "The assertion is that Meta benefited more from ads containing his image than it would have from those without. This is sufficient to effectively argue that the alleged misuse worked to Meta’s benefit," Judge Pitts noted.
Judge Pitts found that Forrest “has logically suggested that Meta had a hand in the creation of the controversial ads." Forrest alleged that Meta played “an active role” in the presentation of the ads and in deciding who saw them using their tailored advertising tools.
The ruling also raises questions about whether Meta's advertising tools were impartial or if they contributed to the ads' content according to Judge Pitts. Australian prosecutors ceased pursuing criminal charges lodged against Meta by Forrest in Australia related to deep fake crypto scam ads in April, citing insufficient evidence. The founder of iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group, 62-year-old Forrest, has a net worth of $16.6 billion as estimated by Forbes.
Published At
6/20/2024 6:03:25 AM
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