Australian mining billionaire files a case against Facebooks fake ads

Andrew Forrest, Australian billionaire and Chief Executive Officer of Fortescue Metals Group, on Thursday said he will be launching criminal proceedings against Meta Platform Inc’s (FB.O) Facebook in an Australian court, alleging that it breached anti-money laundering laws and its platform is used to scam Australians.

He also was taking the action to stop people from losing money to clickbait advertising scams, such as ones using his image to promote cryptocurrency schemes.

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 The case filed by Forrest in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia alleges Facebook “failed to create controls or a corporate culture to prevent its systems being used to commit a crime.”

He also alleges that Facebook was criminally reckless by not taking sufficient steps to stop criminals from using its social media platform to send scam advertisements to misguide Australian users.

The lawsuit comes after Forrest said he made several requests asking Facebook to prevent his image from being used to promote investment plans, including in an open letter to Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in 2019.

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Facebook declined to comment on the case but said that in general, it has always taken a “multifaceted approach” to stop such ads from appearing and had blocked advertisers.

“We’re committed to keeping these people off our platform,” a spokesperson for Meta said in a statement.

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The case mentioned that some advertisements, which have used Forrest’s image and claimed to promote cryptocurrency investment schemes, have appeared on Facebook since March 2019.

In a statement, Forrest said, “This action is being taken on behalf of those everyday Australians – Mums and Dads, Grans and Grandads – who work all their lives to gather their savings and to ensure those savings aren’t swindled away by scammers.”

According to Australian law, a private prosecution of a foreign corporation for alleged offenses under the Commonwealth Criminal Code requires the consent of the country’s attorney-general.

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Steven Lewis, principal of Mark O’Brien Legal, who will represent Forrest in the case, said, “The Attorney-General has given her consent to the private prosecution against Facebook in relation to alleged offenses under subsection 400.7(2) of the Criminal Code,” and added that if Facebook is found guilty, it will face a maximum penalty of A$126,000 ($90,000) on each of three charges.

Forrest said that an initial hearing has been set for March 28.