April 21, 2026 / 5:45 PM EDT / CBS News
A new lawsuit alleges Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, misled users about its efforts to prevent scams on its platforms. The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), a nonprofit advocacy group, filed a complaint in Washington, D.C., superior court accusing Meta of failing to block ads that could pose risks to users while charging advertisers to display that content.
CFA says Meta’s policies and practices allow scam advertisements to proliferate on its platforms while the company profits from those ads, creating a “false impression of safety” for users. “As Americans lose more and more money to online scams, Meta has consistently chosen to prioritize profit over the safety of their users,” Ben Winters, director of AI and data privacy at the CFA, said in a statement.
The group alleges Meta violated a Washington, D.C., consumer protection law and is seeking damages and recovery of what it calls illegal profits earned from scam advertising.
A Meta spokesperson disputed the allegations, saying they “misrepresent the reality of our work” and that the company aggressively combats scams. Meta said it removed over 159 million scam ads last year, 92% of which were taken down before anyone reported them, and removed 10.9 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram tied to criminal scam centers. The company added it continues to invest in new technologies to fight securities investment and other scams.
Edited by Alain Sherter