AGU takes action against Meta to curb scams with government brands
- Rafaela Campos da Silva
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Folha de S. Paulo - April 28, 2024
The AGU (Attorney General's Office) filed a lawsuit on Monday (28) against Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, requesting that measures be taken to prevent the improper use of federal government symbols, images and videos of public authorities in fake ads published on social media.
According to the agency, 1,770 fraudulent pieces were identified between January 10 and 21 — with the aim of applying financial scams against users — that used symbols of official bodies and images of authorities. The lawsuit is based on a study by Netlab/UFRJ (Laboratory of Internet and Social Network Studies of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro).
The ads promoted false information about amounts to be received and about the rules for sending transaction information via Pix to the Federal Revenue Service, a subject that led to a wave of misinformation in January and made the Lula government back down. Meta said it will not comment on the matter.
