Polish billionaire plans to sue Meta over fake advertisements

WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska and his wife plan to sue Meta over fake advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that feature his face and false information regarding her circulating on the social media platforms.

Brzoska said they have not yet decided on a jurisdiction to file the planned lawsuit, which would be another in a series of attempts globally to hold the internet giant accountable for ads that keep appearing even after users inform the company about problems.

A Meta spokesperson said the company removes false ads from its platforms when it learns about them, and works with local authorities to battle scammers.

Brzoska, creator of Polish parcel locker company InPost, said he notified Meta of the problem beginning of July, but it failed to find a solution.

"We plan to file a private lawsuit against Meta... We have not yet determined in which jurisdictions we will sue Meta. We will decide in the next few weeks," Brzoska told Reuters.

"...we are considering absolutely all scenarios, including a lawsuit in the United States if there is inaction in Europe," he added.

Brzoska said he and his wife would demand that Meta stop benefiting from the promotion of content that violates their rights and a large compensation donated to a charity, adequate to the level of advertising revenues from spreading this type of disinformation.

Last week the President of the Personal Data Protection Office obliged Meta Platforms Ireland Limited to stop the display of false advertisements using real data and the images of Brzoska and his wife on Facebook and Instagram in Poland for three months.

“Scammers use every platform available to them to defraud people and constantly adapt to evade getting caught. Scam content breaks our rules and we remove it when we find it,” a Meta spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement, adding the company was assessing the office's decision.

“We also partner with businesses, local administrations and law enforcement to defeat these committed criminals.”

(Reporting by Anna Koper; Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)