Meta denies claim more than half of Facebook crypto ads are scams

Australia’s competition watchdog has claimed 58% of crypto ads on Facebook are scams; Meta says the data is old and unreliable.

Facebook parent company Meta has denied claims that over half of crypto ads on Facebook are scams, arguing the data is outdated and it has since taken steps to address the issue. 

As part of its 2022 lawsuit, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claimed in a recent filing to federal court that 58% of the crypto ads it reviewed on Facebook are scams.

In a statement to Cointelegraph, a Meta spokesperson said the data in the ACCC’s statement of claim relies on old information from 2018 and is from a “limited data set,” and other contact methods are still the top way people are scammed.

The spokesperson argued that it’s unlikely the ACCC “data is an accurate representation of our platform today.”

“The preliminary analysis referred is an allegation in the ACCC’s claim and relates to a historic internal study from 2018 of a small sample of ads. Meta is defending the ACCC’s claim and will respond to the allegation in due course,” the spokesperson said.

“Scammers use every platform available to them and constantly adapt to evade enforcement. Meta doesn’t want scams on its platforms and we will continue to work tirelessly to prevent them and protect our users.”

The ACCC claims it identified 600 ads during its investigation, and since “at least January 2018,” Meta has been aware that many of the crypto ads on Facebook have used misleading promotional practices.

It also alleged Meta does take down individual ads once complaints are received and ban associated accounts; however, it continues to earn revenue from similar ads.

Related: Billionaire’s suit over scam crypto ads on Meta dismissed in Australia

However, Meta argues it has been doing more to curb the scam ads.

According to Meta, it has used manual reviews, automated technology, opted into the Australian Online Scams Code (AOSC), and also updated guidelines to ensure advertisers post legit content.

“We currently use, and continue to explore, a variety of methods, such as new machine learning techniques, to identify content and accounts that violate our policy,” the Meta spokesperson said.

Meta says it removed 631 million fake accounts and 436 million pieces of spam content from Facebook in the first quarter of 2024, with 99.4% of fake accounts and 98.2% of spam content being actioned before users reported it.

Several celebrities have taken legal action over what they argue is Meta’s inaction regarding crypto and related scams using their likeness.

Billionaire Australian mining tycoon Andrew Forrest filed a civil suit against Meta in California Northern District Court in June 2022, claiming “Facebook’s self-help advertising interface materially helped scammers develop” ads.

Divya Das and Kim Bildsøe Lassen, hosts of popular Danish television shows, reported Meta to the police in April after finding out their images had been used in thousands of Facebook ads without their knowledge. 

Four scam victims in Japan also launched legal action in April after being duped by online investment ads that used images of celebrities to draw people in.