More than half of the crypto-related advertisements on Facebook are either scams or in violation of Meta’s advertising policies. The finding came as part of an analysis by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Australia’s consumer watchdog.
The ACCC initiated legal action against Meta in 2022, accusing the tech giant of engaging in false, misleading, or deceptive conduct by publishing fraudulent ads and allegedly aiding the advertisers in their deceitful practices.
The court recently revealed that the ACCC has alleged that since at least January 2018, Meta has been aware that a significant portion of cryptocurrency ads on its platform were promoting misleading or deceptive content.
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58% Crypto Ads On Facebook Are Scams
In a preliminary analysis conducted by the ACCC, it was found that 58% of the reviewed cryptocurrency ads and their corresponding landing pages on Facebook breached Meta’s advertising policies or were likely scams.
These ads often featured well-known public figures, falsely suggesting their endorsement of various fraudulent schemes. Among the celebrities misused in these ads were prominent figures such as David Koch, Nicole Kidman, Chris Hemsworth, and Russell Crowe, among others.
.@Meta and @Facebook removed another one of my posts attempting to expose a scam … a scam HOSTED IN ADS BY META AND FACEBOOK.
The company accepts money from scammers to host thousands of fraudulent ads. Thousands and thousands of scam ads.
Where's the @FTC, @linakhanFTC?! pic.twitter.com/xhLs7Jv2OD
— Jordan Liles (@jordanliles) August 14, 2024
The ACCC has identified 234 ads at the center of their legal challenge, down from an initial count of 600. The regulator claims that although Meta removes individual ads and pages after receiving complaints, and sometimes bans associated accounts, the company continues to display similar ads.
According to the regulator, Meta possesses the technical capability to place warnings on ads, alerting users to the possibility that public figures featured in the ads do not endorse the promoted schemes. However, Meta has not taken such steps.
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Meta Takes Legal Action Against Scammers
In response to questions from members of parliament during a social media inquiry last month, Meta outlined its efforts to combat fraudulent activity. In addition to suspending and deleting accounts, pages, and ads, Meta has taken legal action against violators of its terms of service.
Between January 2023 and January 2024, Meta reported that it had taken action against hundreds of thousands of accounts targeting users in different countries, including Australia.
Meta also introduced a new measure in June, requiring new advertisers on its platform to verify a phone number associated with their account before launching ads.
Despite these efforts, the ACCC reported that all 433 cases related to 10,294 ads reported to Meta through the regulator’s scam channel between January 2023 and February 2024 were found to be in violation and were subsequently removed.
Scamwatch, an Australian government agency, reported that losses from investment scams promoted on social media had already exceeded $13 million in 2024, contributing to a total of $134 million in scam-related losses.
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Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
