Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced Wednesday that he is suing U.S. tech giant Meta Inc. and its Japanese unit, alleging that his name and image were used in fraudulent investment advertisements on the platform.
Online scammers often use Maezawa's name and photo without permission to lure victims. A typical ad has the caption, “Started with 10,000 yen ($64). Earned 1.3 million yen in 4 days.”
Online misinformation posted on Facebook and other social media channels cost Japan 27.8 billion yen ($178 million) last year, according to the National Police Agency.
Maezawa, the founder of Japan's largest online clothing retailer, told social platform wrote.
“I want to clarify whether their actions are legal,'' he said, adding that he would demand 1 yen in damages from Meta.
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“If it is determined to be illegal, it will be easier for victims of fraud to seek compensation, and this will be a major step toward curbing fraud.”
He posted on X a screenshot of court documents showing that the lawsuit was filed in the Tokyo District Court.
Maezawa, who gained international fame for paying for a future mission to the moon run by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has previously urged the Japanese government to take action.
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Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is working on a plan to counter online investment scams that exploit celebrities, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Last month, four Japanese fraud victims sued Facebook, claiming they were fooled by fraudulent online investment ads that used celebrities' images without their consent.
The plaintiffs claim they were victimized by advertisements posted on Facebook that featured images of wealthy celebrities like Maezawa and promised high investment returns.
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And earlier this month, local media reported that a man in his 70s was scammed out of $1.4 million in an online investment scam using the image of another billionaire.
NHK also reported an incident in which a fake voice of a well-known economic analyst was used to defraud online users.
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