Gee, Ya Think?

This is my shocked face Santa Clara county, California is suing the criminal enterprise formerly known as Facebook™ for knowingly profiting from advertising scams.

Given the decades long history of Facebook actively harming its users for a few books by allowing dishonest and fraudulent advertisements, (remember Cambridge Analytica?) this development not a surprise at all.

California’s Santa Clara county has sued Meta Platforms, alleging it has profited from Facebook and Instagram ads promoting scams in violation of California’s false advertising and unfair business practices laws.

The lawsuit – filed on Monday in Santa Clara county superior court on behalf of all California residents – accuses the social media giant of tolerating fraudulent advertising on a global basis. The suit seeks restitution, civil damages and an order prohibiting Meta from engaging in unfair business practices.

Citing leaked internal documents first reported by Reuters last year, the complaint alleges that the company earned as much as $7bn in annual revenue from so-called “high-risk” scam ads which show clear signs of being fraudulent.

Rather than undertaking a broad crackdown on fraudulent advertisers, the county alleges, Meta largely tolerated the misconduct and even established “guardrails” to block scam reduction efforts if they cost the company too much money.

I live for the day when Mark Zuckerberg is frog-marched out of his home in handcuffs.