Recently, Reuters reported that a portion of Meta’s (formerly Facebook) revenue is derived from scam advertisements. Combined with the fact that Meta’s third-quarter earnings fell short of market expectations, the company’s stock price subsequently plunged by more than $140.
Since launching Facebook, Meta has repeatedly sparked controversy by causing a wide range of social problems. One of the most serious cases was the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which became a major social issue after it was revealed that personal data of as many as 87 million Meta users had been leaked to Cambridge Analytica, a firm that improperly manipulated voter behavior during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the U.K. referendum on Brexit.
Even after that, further issues continued to emerge. During the Biden administration, Meta reportedly yielded to political pressure and censored information related to President Biden’s son, as well as content concerning COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, the company has repeatedly been criticized over false advertisements, including scam ads that exploited the names of well-known public figures. In Japan, as the 피해 from such fraudulent advertisements expanded, several prominent individuals stepped forward to petition the Liberal Democratic Party for action. Even then, Meta’s response was widely viewed as sluggish and drew strong criticism.
However, Reuters’ latest reporting suggests something even more troubling: that Meta deliberately neglected—or effectively sabotaged—its efforts to address false and scam advertisements in order to prioritize revenue. Estimates indicate that as much as 10% of Meta’s total revenue—approximately $16 billion, or about ¥2.4 trillion—may be generated from advertisements related to scams or prohibited products.
Meta continues to invest enormous sums in AI development. If funds obtained from scam advertising are also being funneled into those AI investments, one cannot help but question what meaning or legitimacy such AI development truly has in the first place.