Friday, December 10, 2021

Facebook Ads Under Fire


Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.) are urging federal agencies to investigate whether Facebook misled advertisers by misrepresenting the reach of ads.

The Hill reports Warren sent letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday, following a similar letter Cantwell sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday.

The senators’ letters build off the allegations laid out by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in her complaints to the SEC.

“Facebook is not above the law. The company’s executives cannot mislead investors, the SEC, its advertising customers, and the public about a core metric of its business model with impunity if such actions violate federal wire fraud or securities laws,” Warren wrote. “Given the allegations of such misconduct, I urge the DOJ and SEC to immediately commence investigations into Facebook’s representations with respect to Potential Reach and, if you find that the company has in fact violated wire fraud or securities laws, to pursue all available criminal and civil sanctions as appropriate.”

Cantwell wrote to the FTC with a similar request, asking the agency to “immediately commence an investigation.”

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