Meta scam lawsuit

The Consumer Federation of America sued Meta on April 21, accusing the company of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram while telling users it was cracking down. (consumerfed.org) The proposed class action was filed in Superior Court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the group and a proposed class of D.C. Facebook users under the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act. The complaint seeks damages, disgorgement of profits and an injunction. (consumerfed.org) The lawsuit leans on internal Meta estimates previously reported by Reuters. Those documents said Meta showed users 15 billion “higher risk” scam ads a day in 2024 and took in an annualized $7 billion from them. (usnews.com) The complaint also says Meta projected in 2024 that more than 10% of its annual revenue, or about $16 billion, would come from scam ads, illegal gambling and other banned goods. CFA said Meta charged higher-risk advertisers more instead of barring them. (consumerfed.org; usnews.com) The case lands as scam losses tied to social media remain large in the U.S. The Federal Trade Commission said people contacted through social media reported $1.9 billion in losses in 2024, the highest total for any contact method. (consumer.ftc.gov) That matters for anyone who buys ads on Meta, including authors, coaches and small businesses that use Facebook and Instagram to reach readers and customers. A lawsuit centered on scam ads puts more attention on who is allowed to advertise, how identities are checked and whether paid promotions are treated as trustworthy by users. (about.fb.com; money.usnews.com) Meta said the allegations “misrepresent the reality of our work” and said it would fight the case. The company pointed to a March 11 announcement that it was expanding advertiser verification and restricting financial-services ads that send users into private messages, a common scam tactic. (usnews.com; about.fb.com) In that March update, Meta said it removed more than 159 million scam ads in 2025 and took down 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts tied to criminal scam centers. It also said verified advertisers account for about 70% of ad revenue today and that it wants that figure to reach 90% by the end of 2026. (about.fb.com) Reuters said the CFA complaint also alleges Meta tolerated scam-ad activity tied to business partners in China, including ad middlemen that resold ads through “agency accounts.” The suit says that system helped keep fraudulent ads flowing onto the platforms. (usnews.com) The immediate question is whether a D.C. court lets the case move forward under local consumer-protection law. The broader one is whether Meta can keep selling ads as a trust product while fighting claims that scam ads were part of the business. (consumerfed.org; usnews.com)