No end in sight for 'celeb bait' Facebook ad battle

Australia's consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), alleges that social media giant Meta has little knowledge of the advertisements it publishes on its platforms, enabling scammers to profit from fake celebrity endorsements. The Federal Court has filed a lawsuit against Meta for allowing scam cryptocurrency advertisements that have cost victims over $100 million.

These 245 targeted ads featured prominent Australian figures like minerals magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest and former Sunrise host David Koch. This deceptive tactic, known as "celebrity bait," has been exacerbated by AI-generated deepfakes. Meta, intending to defend the lawsuit, is accused of not taking sufficient measures to prevent the proliferation of these scam ads despite being aware of the problem for years.

In court, both the ACCC and Meta's legal representatives debated which evidence Meta would be required to produce. The ACCC's barrister claimed that the social media company failed to implement reasonable safeguards that could have reduced the prevalence of scam ads. However, Meta's attorney argued against the watchdog's substantial demands for evidence, including records from internal communications spanning years.

The ACCC seeks insights from Meta's advertising library to demonstrate the company's lax verification processes. Despite the lawsuit being initiated in March 2022, no trial date has yet been established. The ACCC intends to request a 12-month period for Meta to comply with the discovery evidence requests, which will be determined at a later date.