Facebook parent company Meta has denied claims that more than half of crypto ads on Facebook are scams, stating that the data is out of date and that they are taking steps to address the issue.

As part of its 2022 case, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claimed in its latest application to the federal court that 58% of the crypto ads it reviewed on Facebook were scams.

In a statement to Cointelegraph, a Meta spokesperson said the ACCC’s alleged data is older than 2018 and based on a “limited data set” and that other communication methods are still the most common methods for fraud. The spokesperson argued that the ACCC data was “unlikely to accurately represent our platform today”.

The spokesman said: “The preliminary analysis is an accusation in the ACCC’s claim that it relates to a historic internal study of a small sample of advertising from 2018. “Meta is defending against the ACCC’s allegation and will respond to the charge at the appropriate time.”

The spokesperson also said, “Scammers are using every platform available to them and are constantly adapting to evade the practice. “Meta does not want to see fraud on its platforms and will continue to work tirelessly to prevent fraud and protect users.”

The ACCC claims it identified 600 ads during its investigation and “since at least January 2018” Meta knew that many crypto ads on Facebook used misleading promotional practices.

It also claimed that Meta removed individual ads and banned associated accounts when complaints were received, but still generated revenue from similar ads. However, Meta argues that it is doing more to block fraudulent ads.

According to Meta, manual reviews have been used, automated technologies have been used, the Australian Online Fraud Code (AOSC) has been incorporated, and guidelines have also been updated to ensure advertisers are sharing valid content.

“We are currently using a variety of methods that we continue to investigate, such as new machine learning techniques, to identify content and accounts that violate our policy,” a Meta spokesperson said.

Meta stated that it removed 631 million fake accounts and 436 million spam content from Facebook in the first quarter of 2024, and 99.4% of fake accounts and 98.2% of spam content were processed before users reported it.

Many celebrities have taken legal action, arguing that Meta has failed to take action on crypto and related scams using their likenesses.

Australian billionaire miner Andrew Forrest filed a lawsuit against Meta in the Northern District Court of California in June 2022, claiming that “Facebook’s self-help advertising interface significantly aids scammers in developing advertising.”

Divya Das and Kim Bildsøe Lassen, hosts of popular Danish television shows, reported Meta to the police in April after learning that her images had been used in thousands of Facebook ads without their knowledge.

Four scam victims in Japan also took legal action in April after they were duped by online investment ads that tried to attract people using images of celebrities.