Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms Inc. will face fresh lawsuits in Japan over advertisements that fraudulently solicited investment funds with fake endorsements from celebrities, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Wednesday.
Around 30 plaintiffs will seek at least 300 million yen ($2 million) from the U.S. technology giant and its Japanese arm, arguing they failed to do enough to prevent the scams, according to the lawyers. The damages suits will be filed with five district courts across the country, including Saitama, Chiba and Osaka.
Among the names of people used in the adverts are Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, founder of online fashion retailer Zozo Inc. who traveled to the International Space Station aboard a Russian spacecraft in 2021.
The plaintiffs viewed the fake advertisements before being directed to transfer money to designated investment accounts, the lawyers said.
They argue that Meta is obliged to investigate the content of adverts and not allow them to be posted on social media if it can foresee the risk of harm to users.
Meta was sued earlier this year in a similar suit filed in Kobe by a group of four people. The company is seeking dismissal of the damages claim.
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