Meta Faces Lawsuit from U.S. Virgin Islands Over Fraudulent Ads and Child Protection Risks

United States, 31 December 2025 - The Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, accusing it of profiting from deceptive and fraudulent advertisements and failing to protect users, especially children, from harm on its social media platforms.

The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands on St. Croix, claims that Meta knowingly allowed scam advertisements to run on Facebook and Instagram to boost its profits instead of taking decisive action to remove them.

The complaint cites internal company estimates that around 10% of Meta’s 2024 revenue, roughly $16 billion, came from ads promoting scams, illegal gambling and banned products.

The lawsuit further alleges that Meta did not block advertisers suspected of engaging in fraudulent activity unless the company’s algorithms were at least 95% certain that the advertiser was misbehaving, leading to widespread fraudulent ads remaining active on its platforms.

According to court filings, Meta “knowingly and intentionally exposes its users to fraud and harm” and prioritises user engagement and revenue over user safety,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit seeks penalties under the Virgin Islands’ consumer protection and fraud laws, including civil penalties, injunctions and disgorgement of profits obtained through unlawful advertising practices.

Beyond allegations of scams, the lawsuit accuses Meta of misleading users, parents, regulators and the public about the safety measures implemented to protect both children and adults on its social media platforms.

The complaint argues that Meta has consistently highlighted its commitment to safety publicly but failed to follow through on those pledges in practice.

Additional allegations in the complaint assert that Meta’s platform design and algorithmic features encourage addictive use, particularly among younger users, making children more vulnerable to harm.

According to filings, Meta’s algorithms and product features, like feed engagement mechanics, endless scrolling and push notifications, are designed to maximise time spent on the platforms, even if that increases exposure to harmful content.

While the U.S. Virgin Islands lawsuit focuses on Meta’s alleged role in facilitating scam ads and failing to protect users, cybersecurity concerns in Africa, including Kenya, show that online platforms themselves are increasingly battlegrounds for fraud, data theft and exploitation.

A recent INTERPOL Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report found that cybercrime accounts for more than 30 % of reported crime in parts of Western and Eastern Africa, with Kenya specifically among the countries experiencing high levels of ransomware detections and online fraud. In 2024, Kenya recorded over 3,000 ransomware detections, ranking it among key African nations grappling with sophisticated digital threats.

Region-wide, law enforcement operations such as Operation Sentinel saw 574 suspects arrested and around USD 3 million (≈ Sh387 million) recovered in coordinated crackdowns on fraud, business email compromise (BEC), ransomware and digital extortion.

More than 6,000 malicious online links were dismantled, underscoring the scale of criminal enterprises now using social media and internet services to target victims.

In Kenya alone, payment and digital fraud caused estimated losses of about Sh29.9 billion in 2025, driven by real-time mobile transfers, phishing attacks and social engineering scams, according to the 2025 Serianu Cybersecurity Report.

Online and email fraud were among the most common attack vectors, demonstrating how everyday digital users are exposed to risk.

Moreover, consumer survey data shows that a large proportion of Kenyans have been targeted by digital fraud attempts, with vishing (phone scams), phishing, fraudulent emails/websites, and smishing text message scams, among the most frequently reported tactics used to trick individuals into surrendering personal or financial information.

Child safety online also remains a serious concern.

Research indicates that between 5–13 % of Kenyan children aged 12–17 who use the internet reported experiences of online sexual exploitation or abuse, including being offered money or gifts for sexual images or facing threats via digital platforms.