The legal pressure on Big Tech just got louder, and this time it’s coming from the Caribbean. The attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms, accusing the parent company of Facebook and Instagram of knowingly allowing scam ads to flourish while putting profits over user safety, including the safety of children.
Filed in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands on St. Croix, the lawsuit claims Meta intentionally allows fraud to spread on its platforms. “Meta knowingly and intentionally exposes its users to fraud and harm. It does so to maximize user engagement and, in turn, its revenue,” the complaint states.
The case leans heavily on a recent investigation by Reuters, which reported that Meta internally projected roughly 10 percent of its 2024 revenue, about $16 billion, would come from advertisements tied to scams, illegal gambling, and banned products. The report also revealed that Meta often does not block suspected scam advertisers unless its systems are at least 95 percent certain that wrongdoing is occurring.
After that report, two U.S. senators urged the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and take enforcement action if needed.
Virgin Islands Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea said the lawsuit “marks the first effort by an attorney general to address reports of rampant fraud and scams on Meta’s platforms.” The suit also accuses Meta of misleading the public about safety protections. “Meta repeatedly touts the ‘safety’ of its platforms,” the filing says, while allegedly failing to enforce its own rules.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone rejected the claims, calling them baseless.
“We aggressively fight fraud and scams,” Stone said, adding that scam reports have dropped by half over the past 18 months. Meta also denied claims related to child safety, saying it remains committed to protecting young users.
