Crime & Courts

Yusaku Maezawa, Renowned Businessman, Sues Facebook and Instagram Owner Meta to Stop Fake Ads Using His Name, Face; Seeks ¥1 in Damages

Reuters file photo
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who returned to Earth in December 2021 after a 12-day journey into space, attends a news conference after returning to Japan, at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, in Tokyo, on Jan. 7, 2022.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:43 JST, May 15, 2024

Renowned businessman Yusaku Maezawa sued Meta Platforms Inc. and its Japanese subsidiary on Wednesday, demanding that the operator of Facebook and Instagram eliminate fake ads using his name and face, and pay him ¥1 in damages.

In the lawsuit filed with the Tokyo District Court, Maezawa claimed that Meta allows ads using his name and face to appear on Facebook and Instagram without his consent, arguing that the social media company violated his portrait right and other rights.

Maezawa posted part of the complaint on his own X account, saying, “I want to clarify whether their actions [of allowing such ads] are illegal or legal.”

“I demand that [Meta] reveal the specific contents [of its measures against fake ads] and [a court] summon the person in charge [of the measures],” Maezawa said.