Why Australia's Richest Man Is Suing Facebook

Australia’s richest man is suing Meta Platforms Inc FB, the operator of Facebook, alleging the latter violated anti-money laundering laws and that social network is used to scam Australians.

What Happened: Andrew Forrest filed a criminal complaint against the Mark Zuckerberg-led company in Australia. 

Forrest, who is the Chair of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd FSUGY, stated in his complaint that the social media behemoth failed to halt criminals from using fake advertisements featuring celebrities including himself. These ads were then used to scam people, according to a report from The Sydney Morning Herald.

“I’m acting here for Australians, but this is happening all over the world,” said Forrest in a statement, as per The Herald.

“We’re committed to keeping these people off our platform,” said a Facebook spokesperson, according to the report.

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Why It Matters: This is the first time Facebook has faced a criminal complaint anywhere in the world, according to Forrest’s team. The latter used a provision in Australian law that permits private citizens to file criminal actions with the nod of the country’s Attorney-General, The Herald noted.

The billionaire and iron-ore magnate had reportedly appealed to Zuckerberg in 2019 to stop advertisements that promoted cryptocurrency scams.

Forrest is not the only billionaire whose name has been exploited to run cryptocurrency scams.

The world’s richest man, Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk, has faced a similar situation. Scams run in his name have caused people to lose money.

Musk described Facebook as “lame” in a 2020 Twitter response to the actor Sacha Baron Cohen.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Facebook shares plunged 22.9% to $249.05 in the after-hours trading. The shares closed 1.25% higher at $323 in the regular session.

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