California county scam ad lawsuit adds to mounting Meta legal woes

A county in the US state of California has become the latest litigant against Meta Platforms, the sprawling multinational corporation that operates Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads. The lawsuit filed earlier this week by Santa Clara County alleges that Meta knowingly profits from scam advertising, which it says generated $7bn in annual revenue. Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list It is the latest US lawsuit to challenge the social media company’s ethics, following a landmark ruling in March that found the company harmed young users with intentionally addictive design features. Meta, which made more than $200bn in revenue in 2025, has also faced a separate lawsuit filed by the Consumer Federation of America, which said its approach towards scammers violates consumer protection laws. What does the lawsuit allege? The lawsuit alleges that Meta both “facilitates and monetises” deception in how it moderates its advertisements, according to Santa Clara County. Far from scam advertisements being blocked, likely offenders are simply flagged by Meta’s system. Meta only banned marketers it was 95 percent certain were commiting fraud, according to Meta’s internal documents. Suspected scammers below that threshold are then charged a premium fee to continue running the advertisements, according to a 2025 investigation by the news agency Reuters. …