Australian Regulator Takes Meta To Court Over Deceptive Crypto Ads On Facebook

Australia’s competition regulator has highlighted that the majority of crypto ads on Meta’s Facebook are likely scams.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s filing with the Federal Court of Australia, Meta has been aware since 2018 that a significant portion of the cryptocurrency-related advertisements on Facebook were “misleading” or leveraged “deceptive promotional practices.”

During its preliminary analysis, the regulator found that over 58% of the crypto ads it reviewed were either scams or violated Meta’s Advertising Policies. So far, the ACCC has identified 600 ads that promote celebrity scams.

These adverts typically use images of key figures and celebrities in Australia to mislead investors before defrauding them via crypto investment scams. The filing highlights several names, such as actors Chris Hemsworth and Mel Gibson, alongside political figures like Mike Baird, whose likenesses have been used in these fake ads.

For instance, in February 2024, cybersecurity firm Cybertrace issued an alert regarding scammers using deep fake videos of Australian mining tycoon and entrepreneur Andrew Forrest to promote a fake crypto trading app.

The ACCC added that it expects to find other instances of such scams once the discovery process begins. 

Further, the filing alleges that Meta possesses the ability to issue warnings on ads that it displays, specifically to inform users that certain advertisements, but has not done so. Instead, it takes down individual ads when it receives a complaint but continues to “earn revenue” from similar ads that sometimes feature the same celebrity.

The regulatory agency initially took Meta to court in 2022 after alleging that the firm engaged in “deceptive conduct” by allowing scam celebrity-themed crypto ads. Prior to that, the agency had started investigating the tech behemoth for breaching Australian consumer law. As of now, a hearing date has not been confirmed.

Australia has witnessed a spike in scams, as evidenced by scamwatch data. Over 143,000 reported cases resulted in $134.47 in losses, and investment scams accounted for over $78 million lost.

The crypto sector in Australia has seen a spike in illicit activity, which led AUSTRAC to award cryptocurrencies a “high” risk factor in its 2024 Money Laundering National Risk Assessment. A 2023 report from the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange revealed that over $3 billion was lost to crypto scammers the previous year.

Authorities in the nation have taken various steps over the past months to curb scams involving cryptocurrencies. On Aug. 5, the Australian Federal Police announced Operation Spincaster in collaboration with blockchain forensic firm Chainalysis to recover crypto funds stolen from non-custodial wallets. Meanwhile, major banks in the nation have been restricting payments to crypto exchanges, citing a surge in crypto investment scams.