Andrew Forrest, Australian billionaire and iron ore magnate has said that he is filing criminal suit against Facebook. He is alleging that Meta’s platform breached anti-money laundering laws and was being used to scam Austrlians. Forrest, Australia’s richest man, is chairman of Fortescue Metals Group.
He said that he was taking legal action to stop people from losing money to clickbait advertising scams. He added that his image was also being used to promote cryptocurrency schemes. He has filed the lawsuit in Magistrates Court of Western Australia alleges Facebook
The lawsuit says Facebook “failed to create controls or a corporate culture to prevent its systems being used to commit crime.”
It also alleges Facebook was criminally reckless by not taking sufficient steps to stop criminals from using its social media platform to send scam advertisements to defraud 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 November 2019.
Facebook, which changed its name to Meta last year, declined to comment on the lawsuit but said that in general it has always taken a “multifaceted approach” to stop such ads appearing and had blocked advertisers.
“We’re committed to keeping these people off our platform,” a spokesperson for Meta said in an emailed statement.
Some advertisements, which have used Forrest’s image and claimed to promote cryptocurrency investment schemes, have appeared on Facebook since March 2019, the lawsuit 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,” Forrest said in a statement.
Under Australian law, a private prosecution of a foreign corporation for alleged offences under the Commonwealth Criminal Code requires the consent of the country’s attorney general.
“The Attorney-General has given her consent to the private prosecution against Facebook in relation to alleged offences under subsection 400.7(2) of the Criminal Code,” said Steven Lewis, principal of Mark O’Brien Legal, which will represent Forrest in the case.
(With inputs from agencies)
