Yokohama court dismisses lawsuit against Meta over fake ads — The Japan Times

The Yokohama District Court in Japan dismissed a lawsuit seeking compensation from the U.S. company Meta Platforms and its Japanese unit over fake advertisements that used the names and images of celebrities without permission. As The Japan Times reports, this is the first ruling in a series of similar cases filed with six district courts in Japan.

Plaintiffs’ demands

The lawsuit in Yokohama was filed by six victims of investment fraud and one company. They sought a total of approximately ¥43 million in compensation from Meta.

The plaintiffs argued that Meta knew fake advertisements were being distributed on its platforms, including Facebook, and could easily have removed them, but left the ads available. In their view, this led people to become victims of fraud. The plaintiffs plan to appeal the court’s ruling.

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The court’s position

The court concluded that it was impossible to assert that Meta could easily have determined the advertisements were fraudulent and fake at the time of their publication. The court also did not find it proven that the company received information about the ads’ falsity between April and November 2023, when they were viewed by the plaintiffs.

In addition, the court did not establish that Japanese entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa and Takafumi Horie had demanded that Meta remove advertisements using their names. Presiding Judge Katsumi Takagi said that Meta was not obligated to verify the truthfulness of advertisements or prevent them from appearing on Facebook and other platforms.

At a press conference in Yokohama, the plaintiffs’ lawyer Takako Shirota called the decision unfair. She said it could contribute to the spread of fake advertisements and further harm from investment fraud through social media.