Victims of financial fraud in Japan have sued Meta for advertising fraudulent investment schemes using images of famous people on Facebook.
Four victims filed a lawsuit at the Kobe District Court, demanding 23 million yen ($148,000) in damages from Facebook Japan. According to their claim, they were victimized by ads featuring images of wealthy Japanese celebrities.
Among the personalities used in the ads, was Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, founder of Japan’s largest online clothing store Zozo, who gained worldwide fame after announcing his purchase of a flight to the moon on a future mission operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Maezawa’s photos are often used by scammers without his consent. For example, one ad says, “Started with ¥10,000. Gained ¥1.3 million in four days.”
Maezawa has previously urged the Japanese government to take action and said he is working with lawyers in the U.S. to file his lawsuit against Meta.
Examples of ads with Maezawa from Facebook’s Ads Library:
It’s worth noting that Yasumichi Kokufu, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, criticized Meta during a press conference in Kobe for “not sufficiently checking fraudulent ads.” Such lawsuits raise the issue of the platform’s responsibility for content and manipulations on its platform. In the previous year, such scams advertised on Facebook and other social networks in Japan resulted in losses estimated at 27.8 billion yen ($178 million).
For its part, Meta’s public relations representative said the company would refrain from commenting on individual cases.
More information on the lawsuits: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/04/25/japan/crime-legal/meta-sued-in-japan-for-celebrity-scams/
