Polish billionaire Rafał Brzoska and his wife plan to sue Meta over fake adverts on Facebook and Instagram, Euractiv reports.
The advertisements feature his face and false information about his wife spread on social media platforms. Brzoska stated that they had yet to decide on the jurisdiction to file the planned lawsuit. This will be another in a series of attempts worldwide to hold the internet giant accountable for adverts that continue to appear even after users report issues to the company.
A Meta spokesperson said the company removed false adverts from its platforms when it became aware of them and worked with local authorities to combat scammers.
Scammers use every platform available to them to defraud people and constantly adapt to evade getting caught. Scam content breaks our rules and we remove it when we find it. We also partner with businesses, local administrations and law enforcement to defeat these committed criminals.
Brzoska, creator of Polish parcel locker company InPost, stated that he notified Meta of the problem in early July, but it failed to find a solution.
We plan to file a private lawsuit against Meta… We have not yet determined in which jurisdictions we will sue Meta. We will decide in the next few weeks. (…) we are considering absolutely all scenarios, including a lawsuit in the United States if there is inaction in Europe.
The billionaire said he and his wife would demand that Meta stop profiting from promoting content violating their rights. They will also seek a large compensation donated to charity, adequate to the advertising revenue generated from the dissemination of such misinformation.
Last week, the President of the Personal Data Protection Office ordered Meta Platforms Ireland Limited to stop displaying false adverts using real data and images of Brzoska and his wife on Facebook and Instagram in Poland for three months.
