Meta has announced significant legal action against deceptive advertising operations in Brazil, China, and Vietnam for exploiting its platforms with “celeb-bait” and deepfake scams.

The crackdown targets several specific fraudulent schemes:

• Brazil: Meta sued companies including B&B Suplementos e Cosméticos and Brites Academia de Treinamento for using AI-generated deepfakes of public figures, such as oncologist Drauzio Varella, to sell scam courses and unapproved health products.
• China: The company filed suit against Shenzhen Yunzheng Technology Co., Ltd. for using celebrity likenesses to lure users into fraudulent investment groups.
• Vietnam: A lawsuit was filed against Lý Văn Lâm for using “cloaking” techniques to hide malicious websites that tricked users into “subscription fraud” and fake luxury brand discounts.
• Enforcement: Meta also issued cease-and-desist letters to consultants who offered services to bypass its security, such as “un-banning” accounts or renting trusted profiles to scammers.

Meta revealed that its AI-driven protection program now monitors over 500,000 celebrities globally to proactively block the unauthorized use of their likenesses in ads.