Consumer Federation of America sues Meta over scam advertisements

The nonprofit Consumer Federation of America has filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging the social media company violates consumer protection laws through its handling of scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. CFA's lawsuit focuses on fraudulent advertising that the group says Meta has profited from and allowed to proliferate on its platforms. The complaint points to ads in Meta's ad library that CFA identifies as well-known scams. "This is why nonprofits and civil society exist in the idealized world, right? To fill in gaps where there are gaps," said Ben Winters, CFA's director of AI and data privacy. CFA is seeking to recover damages and what it says are illegal profits from Meta, along with business reforms. Meta has faced increased scrutiny over scam advertisements. Internal company documents estimated that Meta would earn revenue from ads that were scams or other prohibited content, according to reports. A Meta spokesperson called such estimates overly inclusive. The lawsuit follows previous regulatory actions. A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general urged Meta to crack down on Facebook ads leading to WhatsApp groups used for investment scams. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the CFA lawsuit.