Crime & Courts

30 People in Japan Sue Meta over Fake Ads

REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
People walk behind a Meta Platforms logo during a conference in Mumbai, India, 2023.

Jiji Press

11:21 JST, October 30, 2024

OSAKA (Jiji Press) — Thirty people in Japan complaining of fraud damage on Tuesday filed lawsuits against U.S. technology giant Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook Inc., and its Japanese arm for failing to block fake social media ads on investment using the names and images of celebrities.

In the suits filed with five district courts, located in the eastern cities of Saitama, Chiba and Yokohama and the western cities of Osaka and Kobe, the plaintiffs are demanding the payment of a total of about ¥435 million in damages from the Meta side.

They claim that they were lured into investment through fake ads posted on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram social media platforms and fell victim to fraud. The maximum amount of money remitted by the victims exceeded ¥100 million.

The plaintiffs argue that Meta bears responsibility for having left these ads unattended.