Polish Billionaire, Wife To Sue Meta Over Misinformation

Polish billionaire entrepreneur Rafal Brzoska and his wife, journalist Omenaa Mensah, plan to sue Meta Platforms over fake advertisements on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms that use their images to spread false information, Reuters reported.

The move comes after the Polish Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) last week ordered Meta Platforms Ireland to halt the display of the ads for three months.

Brzoska, the founder and chief executive of Polish logistics and postal locker company InPost, said the pair have not decided on a jurisdiction for the planned lawsuit.

He said he notified Meta of the problem at the beginning of July but the situation had not been resolved.

Legal action

“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,” he said.

“We are considering absolutely all scenarios, including a lawsuit in the United States if there is inaction in Europe,” Brzoska added.

The lawsuit would aim to stop Meta from benefiting from the promotion of content that violates their rights and for it to make a large donation to a charity, in proportion to the level of advertising revenues Meta gains from spreading disinformation in paid advertising.

Mensah discovered 263 ads that were still being updated and negatively affected her safety, privacy and the emotional well-being of her loved ones, UODO said.

The ads contain false information about her such as her death or abuse by her husband, the agency said.

The Irish data protection board said it was reviewing the complaint.

Online scams

“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,” Meta said in a statement.

The company said it was assessing the UODO order.

Social media platforms have increasingly come under fire for failures to stem the spread of misinformation, something that has come into the spotlight in the UK in recent days with violence across the country fanned by social media disinformation.

The EU has passed legislation in the form of the Digital Services Act (DSA) that places more stringent legal obligations on large online media platforms, but enforcing the measure remains a challenge.

The UK’s Online Safety Act is expected to implement similar controls when it comes into full force next year.