🌎 Judge Allows Andrew Forrest’s Lawsuit Against Meta Over Fake Crypto Ads

A U.S. judge has rejected Meta Platform’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Australian mining tycoon Andrew Forrest. The lawsuit centers on deceptive Facebook ads featuring Forrest endorsing fake crypto projects and other fraudulent investments. Forrest seeks to hold Meta accountable for enabling the dissemination of these ads.

Judge’s Decision

Meta’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit was unsuccessful. U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts ruled that Forrest has the right to attempt to prove Meta’s negligence. The judge argued that Meta allowed the ads to violate its duty to operate in a commercially reasonable manner.

“Dr. Forrest claims that Meta profited more from ads that included his likeness than it would have if the ads had not,” Pitts wrote. “This is enough to adequately plead that the alleged misappropriation was to Meta’s advantage.”

Details of the Lawsuit

Forrest’s lawsuit claims that more than 1,000 advertisements were spread on Facebook in Australia from April to November 2023, leading to significant financial losses for those affected, amounting to millions of dollars.

The ads falsely depicted Forrest endorsing crypto pump-and-dump schemes and were designed to look legitimate. They used tactics to bypass Facebook’s ad review systems. Forrest alleged that Meta’s software, including Generative AI, helped create some of the scam ads.

“Beginning in 2019, Dr. Forrest learned that ads using his name and likeness to endorse cryptocurrency and other fraudulent investment products were appearing on Facebook. Some were accompanied by fake testimonials from investors who said they turned $250 into millions in a matter of months. Others included doctored ‘deepfake’ videos of Dr. Forrest,” the court order read.

Dr. Andrew Forrest sued Meta over scam Facebook ads that included deepfakes of him promoting crypto. He alleged that Meta’s software helped create some of the scam ads via Generative AI tools. The court has ruled that his publicity rights and negligence claims can proceed.

Meta’s Tools and Responsibilities

The lawsuit claimed that Meta offers a range of tools for creating ads, accessible from a separate platform. It also alleged that Meta provides tools to enhance the appearance of ads on their website and does not review ads before they are paid for.