‘Gross negligence’: US judge rules Meta hid evidence in Australian tycoon fake ad case

A federal judge in California has ruled against Meta for allegedly destroying evidence in a case brought by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest over scam ads using his likeness without permission. Judge P. Casey Pitts found that Meta did destroy or allow essential data to be erased, causing harm to the plaintiff, and called Meta's conduct "gross negligence."

Forrest's legal team argues that Meta's artificial intelligence tools optimized and personalized fraudulent ads before distributing them, making Meta an active participant in the scams rather than a mere intermediary. The case is still in its preliminary hearing phase, and Meta is expected to seek to have the case thrown out on immunity grounds at a hearing expected by the end of the year.

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