Meta Platforms Inc. was sued by Santa Clara County, California, over allegations that the company “knowingly facilitates and profits from billions of scam advertisements” on its social networks, including Facebook and Instagram.
The complaint accuses the social networking giant of defrauding seniors and families with scam ads, which the company allegedly tracks. Meta makes approximately $7 billion in revenue each year from these kinds of ads, according to a statement from Tony LoPresti, the Santa Clara County counsel, who is bringing the lawsuit.
LoPresti is seeking injunctive relief, civil penalties and restitution for money lost as a result of Meta’s actions. Santa Clara County houses much of Silicon Valley, and many of Meta’s employees live there, including Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg. Meta’s headquarters are in neighboring San Mateo County.
The suit relies on a report last year from Reuters that “distorts our motives and ignores the full range of actions we take to combat scams every day,” a spokesperson for Meta said in a statement, adding that the company removed more than 159 million scam ads in 2025.
“We aggressively fight scams on and off our platforms because they’re not good for us or the people and businesses that rely on our services,” the spokesperson said. Meta will fight the lawsuit.
Meta makes the vast majority of its revenue from advertisements, and brought in over $200 billion in sales in 2025. LoPresti claims certain ads promote a series of scams, including “fraudulent financial products, cryptocurrency schemes, purported cures for incurable diseases, ineffective nutritional supplements, and impersonations of celebrities asking for monetary contributions.”
