California’s Meta Platforms is facing a lawsuit from Santa Clara County, which accuses the tech giant of profiting from fraudulent advertisements on Facebook and Instagram in violation of California’s false advertising and unfair business practices laws. Filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on behalf of all California residents, the lawsuit seeks civil damages, restitution, and a court order to stop what the county describes as unfair business conduct.
The complaint alleges that Meta knowingly tolerated scam advertisements because they generated massive revenue, citing leaked internal documents previously reported by Reuters. According to the lawsuit, the company may have earned up to $7 billion annually from “high-risk” scam ads. Santa Clara County further claims Meta created internal “guardrails” to prevent anti-scam enforcement measures from affecting profits and allowed middlemen to sell protected advertising accounts used for fraudulent campaigns.
Meta has denied the allegations and said it will defend itself against the claims. Company spokesperson Andy Stone stated that Reuters’ reporting distorted Meta’s motives and overlooked the company’s efforts to combat scams across its platforms. However, county officials argue that Meta misled users by publicly portraying anti-scam enforcement as a top priority while allegedly continuing to benefit financially from deceptive advertising practices.
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