The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) filed a class-action complaint against Meta on April 21 in Superior Court in Washington, D.C., alleging the social media company profited from fraudulent advertising on Facebook and Instagram while misleading users about its efforts to address the problem.
The CFA, an association of nonprofit consumer organizations, claims Meta had “knowingly taken steps and adopted policies that pad its bottom line at the expense of its users’ safety and well-being.” The complaint seeks a jury trial and damages for local consumers under Washington, D.C.’s consumer protection laws.
The filing cites previous reporting on internal Meta documents, which showed the company estimated it showed users 15 billion “higher risk” scam ads per day, generating an annualized $7 billion in revenue. A separate internal projection estimated Meta would earn roughly 10 percent of its overall 2024 revenue, approximately $16 billion, from ads tied to scams and banned goods.
The complaint also alleges that Meta tolerated scam ad activity by business partners in China, including digital advertising middlemen authorized to resell ads through so-called “agency accounts,” that allegedly facilitated fraudulent activity.
Meta’s Response
Meta denied the allegations. “These allegations misrepresent the reality of our work and we will fight them,” spokesperson Chris Sgro said in a statement. The company noted it removed more than 159 million scam ads last year, 92 percent before anyone reported them, and took down 10.9 million accounts linked to criminal scam centers.
Meta also pointed to a recent announcement expanding advertiser-verification efforts and a new prohibition on financial services ads that direct users to private messaging services.
Legal Context
The CFA lawsuit follows related legal and regulatory actions. In June 2025, a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general urged Meta to address Facebook ads funneling users into WhatsApp-based investment scams. The U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general subsequently filed a separate lawsuit alleging that Meta charged higher rates for ads flagged as likely fraudulent.
CFA Director of AI and Data Privacy Ben Winters said the nonprofit filed the suit because federal and state action has not moved quickly enough to provide consumer relief.
David Adler is an entrepreneur and freelance blog post writer who enjoys writing about business, entrepreneurship, travel and the influencer marketing space.
