Facebook must actively remove fake ads of John de Mol
John de Mol and other Dutch celebrities appear against their will (and sometimes without knowing it) in advertisements on Facebook and Instagram for investing in Bitcoins, among others. The advertisements are a complete fraud: De Mol has not given permission for the use of his portrait. And if you fall for the ads and transfer money, you don't get any bitcoins and you lose the money. All in all, it is estimated that this type of fraud has already cost at least € 1.7 million.
Facebook only removed the fake ads after long insistence. De Mol brought an interim injunction and was (largely) in the right: Facebook must make a real effort to prevent these kinds of advertisements. Facebook's defence that it is only an ‘intermediary' does not stand: the advertisements are the primary earning model of Facebook. Nor is it possible to invoke freedom of expression, since these are commercial statements that are probably even liable to punishment.
Facebook is not imposed an obligation to filter generally, but is imposed a specific ban: it must do what it can to ensure that no fake advertisements are shown with De Mol, even if, technically, this is not easy (and in terms of manpower and costs). If such an advertisement is shown again, Facebook will only be able to avoid the penalty if it has done everything in its power.
This line was actually already used in the Tommy Hilfiger/Facebook case. These were advertisements for counterfeit products that Facebook had to combat more actively. It is not allowed to show advertisements with "Tommy Hilfiger" if they are accompanied by:
low prices or huge discounts;
3 or 4 images;
an advertisement that links to a website other than the one mentioned in the advertisement;
a description in faulty English or which is irrelevant to the items offered;
the mention of free delivery;
advertisers Facebook 'community' pages that were created shortly before the advertisement was placed.
The time of online giants hiding behind their users seems to be over. This also seems logical: with clear algorithms a lot is technically possible. Of course, this has to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Moïra Truijens
