Tokyo: Four individuals in Japan have taken legal action against Facebook on Thursday, alleging they were deceived by fraudulent online investment advertisements featuring unauthorized images of celebrities, according to their legal representative.
Last year, online scams circulated on Facebook and various social media platforms in Japan resulted in losses amounting to 27.8 billion yen ($178 million), as reported by the National Police Agency.
The plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit in Kobe District Court, seeking 23 million yen ($148,000) in damages from Facebook Japan, a subsidiary of the US-based Meta corporation, their lawyer confirmed.
These individuals claim they were misled by advertisements on Facebook promising substantial investment returns, which prominently featured images of affluent personalities such as Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.
Maezawa, renowned for founding Japan’s largest online clothing retailer and for his planned space voyage with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has frequently had his likeness misused by online scammers. One common advertisement displayed a message claiming: “Invested 10,000 yen, gained 1.3 million yen in four days.”
Previously, Maezawa has advocated for government intervention in Japan and has indicated his collaboration with legal representatives in the United States to pursue legal action against Meta.
Meta, when contacted by AFP regarding the lawsuit in Japan, did not provide an immediate response.
While the adverts involved in this case solely utilized images, other nations have encountered more sophisticated scams incorporating “deepfake” videos of celebrities endorsing fraudulent investment schemes.
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