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Facebook owner Meta faces $2.8 million lawsuits in Japan over fake ads

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms Inc. face fresh lawsuits in Japan over advertisements that fraudulently solicited investments with fake celebrity endorsements, 30 plaintiffs seeking a total of 435 million yen ($2.8 million) in damages.

Among the names of people used in the adverts are Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, the founder of online fashion retailer Zozo Inc. who traveled to the International Space Station aboard a Russian spacecraft in 2021. Maezawa and another entrepreneur, Takafumi Horie, made requests for the false advertisements to be removed, but Meta "ignored them and caused more damage," said Kusuo Tsuneoka, a lawyer working for the plaintiffs. Tsuneoka told a press conference in Chiba, near Tokyo, that the legal team is considering filing additional lawsuits, saying, "If more people speak out, we'll have more regulations in place against false advertising.

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