Australian prosecutors have reportedly dropped Andrew Forrest’s case against tech giant Meta over the appearance of fraudulent crypto ads featuring his face on Facebook. The development is a blow to the Australian billionaire, who is keen to hold Meta accountable for allegedly allowing bad actors to promote crypto scams using his image.
Australian authorities dismiss Forrest’s case due to insufficient evidence
In February 2022, Andrew Forrest launched his first lawsuit against Meta, claiming that the Silicon Valley-based company failed to prevent fraudulent Facebook ads from using his image and name. With the approval of Commonwealth Attorney-General Michaelia Cash, Forrest, who is also Australia’s second-richest man, was able to pursue criminal charges against the tech company as an individual.
The mining magnate, who owns 37% of Fortescue Metals Group, claimed Meta had committed three breaches of Australia’s anti-money laundering laws because they failed to implement required measures against criminals using his face to advertise crypto. scams to defraud unsuspecting Australian users.
However, according to a recent report According to Reuters, Australian prosecutors have now withdrawn Forrest’s lawsuit against the social media company, citing a lack of credible evidence to pursue the criminal charges in question. The decision was revealed on Friday by a spokesperson for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Commenting on the development, Andrew Forrest expressed his great disappointment, calling the dismissal of the case a “tragedy” for the innocent victims who were cheated of their hard-earned money by these crypto schemes. On the other hand, Meta said that the fight against online scams is “complex”, but reiterated its commitment against this threat in order to continually protect its users.
Andrew Forrest maintains charge against Meta after setback
Although Australian authorities have closed this case, Andrew Forrest remains steadfast in his prosecution of Meta as he has a separate lawsuit against the tech giant in California covering the same issues.
Although Meta has since filed a lawsuit over the case, arguing that U.S. laws cannot hold online platforms responsible for their use by customers or third parties, Forrest says those laws are only effective within American borders. The Australian billionaire remains committed to buying this alternative case in the United States, claiming that more than 1,000 crypto scam ads were found on Facebook between April 2023 and November 2023.
Generally speaking, crypto scams remain a notorious problem in the digital assets industry. According to data from security company Immunefi$14.67 million was lost to frauds and scams in the first quarter of 2024. These figures highlight the need for continued and necessary development of more innovative and effective blockchain security measures.
Total crypto market valued at $2.348 trillion on the daily chart | Source: TOTAL chart on Tradiingview.com
Featured image from ABC, chart from Tradingview
