Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest allowed to continue lawsuit against Meta over fake scam ads

Australian billionaire Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest has won a major ‘strategic victory’ against Facebook parent company Meta.

Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest. Picture: Newswire

In a massive win for mining billionaire Andrew Forrest a US court has ruled he can sue Meta over scam advertisements on Facebook featuring his likeness.

The court ruled against Meta’s motion to dismiss a claim of negligence that it had “breached its duty to the general public, including Mr Forrest, to design and run its ad business in a “commercially reasonable manner”.

Northern District Court Judge Casey Pitts in San Jose, California, overnight ruled that the lawsuit can move forward on the facts pleaded.

Mr Forrest brought legal action against Facebook’s parent company Meta arguing it does not have immunity from prosecution under Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act.

The 30-year-old law is used by social media platforms and online businesses to immunise them from content posted by users on their platforms.

The court also found that Mr Forrest had cause for action under California common law to claim for misappropriation of his name and likeness.

One of the scam ads featuring Australian billionaire Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest’s likeness. He has been the victim of five new scam ads published on Meta’s platforms every single day. Supplied

The Facebook ads - which continue to be posted by scammers on Facebook - use Mr Forrest’s likeness to promote fake cryptocurrency and other fraudulent investments.

Thousands of scams featuring Mr Forrest’s image have flooded Facebook via its advertising platform since 2019.

There was a sharp increase in 2023 as criminals began to use Artificial Intelligence tools to create “deep fake” videos.

Australia victims have lost millions of dollars to these frauds.

“This is a crucial strategic victory in the battle to hold Facebook accountable for the millions of dollars stolen from innocent Australians who have fallen victim to the duplicitous scams promoted on the Facebook platform,” Mr Forrest said following the ruling.

“It marks the first time in the US civil court that a social media company has failed to succeed in using Section 230 immunity as a defence against civil liability for the conduct of its advertising business.

“The decision means we can seek to prove in court that Facebook can and should prevent displaying fraudulent ads on its site, while refusing to take any responsibility.

“I am prepared to spend whatever it takes to hold Facebook’s directors and its leaders responsible. I don’t care what it costs. I want to see them in the witness stand explaining their actions.”

Meta’s logo. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

The case will now move to the discovery phase, and Mr Forrest’s lawyers will have the right to examine Facebook’s advertising platform and algorithms to understand how Facebook delivers scam advertisements to its users.

Mr Forrest’s court battle with Meta highlights an ongoing problem for social media users outside the US, who are required to sue in the US to seek redress from social media companies.

The court found that Meta could invoke Section 230 as a defence if cases are litigated in the US.

It means international social media users are caught in a “catch 22” where they are forced to take legal action in the US against the US companies operating these platforms abroad, but then find that they are subject to US domestic laws which seek to provide immunity to online tech companies.

“For too long, Facebook has hidden behind an almost 30 year old law to claim statutory immunity, shielding itself from accountability for scams flooding its platform,” Mr Forrest said.

Originally published as Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest allowed to continue lawsuit against Meta over fake scam ads