By Zainab Shafiq 
Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska, founder and majority shareholder of InPost, is preparing to sue Meta Platforms, along with his wife, on fake ads on Facebook and Instagram. The misleading ads feature Brzoska’s image and spread around the web fake information about his wife, raising serious concerns of privacy violation and misuse of personal data.
Despite flagging off the issue to Meta in early July, the technology giant has not really done enough to have the issue corrected. While the couple is yet to decide on the jurisdictions it would file its lawsuit, it can be directed to hold the lawsuit in the United States should European measures be deemed not sufficient.
Brzoska’s case against Meta is a legal strategy meant to make the company take ownership of spreading disinformation through its platforms, since it should not profit from content that violates people’s rights. If successful, this lawsuit could set a massive legal precedent for related cases worldwide, filled along the lines of the duty social media companies have for moderation against misleading content.
Billionaire couple to donate money to charity on winning Fake ads on Facebook and Instagram case against Meta
In a ruling on the matter, Poland’s Personal Data Protection Office ordered Meta Platforms Ireland to stop displaying the misleading advertisements for a period of three months. The advertisements are still up, and their resilience to moderation might indicate a flaw in Meta’s review processes for policing content.
The decision in the case may have implications on the Modus Operandi of Meta not just in Europe but abroad as well. If the compensation is awarded, Brzoska and his wife claim that they will give out every cent paid to them as compensation to charity; the figure will be equivalent to what Meta earned from all these fake adverts.
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