“Meta’s platforms have become a preferred hunting ground for scammers, and our lawsuit alleges that Meta not only knows it but has put in place systems and tools to ensure it profits from it,” LoPresti said in a press release. “No corporation is above the law. As civil prosecutors in Silicon Valley, we cannot allow a tech company as powerful as Meta to continue perpetrating a worldwide scheme to deceive consumers.”
A California county has filed a lawsuit against Meta, claiming that the social media company makes billions of dollars promoting scam advertisements across its platforms.
According to CBS News, the lawsuit was filed Monday by Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti. In his lawsuit, LoPresti claims that Meta tracks about 15 billion fraudulent advertisements between Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Despite recognizing many of these ads as fraudulent or otherwise misleading, though, Meta continues to derive more than $7 billion per year in so-called “violating revenue.”
Santa Clara County also says that Meta uses “sophisticated” artificial intelligence tools and other programs to target vulnerable consumers.
“Meta’s platforms have become a preferred hunting ground for scammers, and our lawsuit alleges that Meta not only knows it but has put in place systems and tools to ensure it profits from it,” LoPresti said in a press release. “No corporation is above the law. As civil prosecutors in Silicon Valley, we cannot allow a tech company as powerful as Meta to continue perpetrating a worldwide scheme to deceive consumers.”
The lawsuit cites a 2025 Reuters investigation that found that Meta used artificial intelligence tools to generate and test thousands of deceptive advertisements. These advertisements were then directed to users who had previously clicked on links to scam pages and websites.
The investigation found that Meta let many bad actors continue to run scam advertisements even after accruing multiple violations.
“Behind every one of the billions of scam ads Meta runs each day, there are real people at risk,” LoPresti said. “Too often, it’s the most vulnerable people who suffer the harshest impacts. This lawsuit says what should be obvious: no amount of profit justifies treating our most vulnerable residents as acceptable collateral damage.”
In response, Meta said that LoPresti’s lawsuit is predicated on a reporter “that distorts our motives and ignores the full range of actions we take to combat scams every day.”
“We aggressively fight scams on and off our platforms because they’re not good for us or the people and businesses that rely on our services,” a Meta spokesperson said. “We removed over 159 million scam ads last year alone, launched new tools to protect people, and partnered with law enforcement around the globe to disrupt these criminals. We will fight this lawsuit.”
The lawsuit asks the court to stop Meta from knowingly promoting fraudulent advertisements. It also seeks restitution and a range of civil penalties, including fines for violations involving senior citizens.
Sources
County Counsel Files Landmark Civil Prosecution Taking on Meta’s Role in Massive Consumer Fraud
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