According to multiple reports, Utgivarna is taking legal action against the tech giant Meta because of fraudulent ads that impersonate journalists and other media figures to deceive users. According to SVT Kultur, James Savage, chairman of Utgivarna, described how the ads have become more sophisticated, with AI-generated videos featuring well-known journalists recommending cryptocurrency purchases. He also stated that Meta earned 137 billion kronor from these ads in 2024, arguing the company should do more to prevent them from reaching users. Meta responded that it is against its policy to publish ads that promote or facilitate fraud. The company said addressing fraud requires collaboration across industry boundaries between banks, governments, law enforcement, and telecom companies. Meta added it is ready to review and take action if it finds any violations of its policy, though it has not received specific details about this network. The specific legal grounds Utgivarna is using for its lawsuit remain unclear, and it is unknown whether Meta has taken any recent actions to address the scam ads since its statement.
In an unrelated case, Östersunds FK has submitted a lawsuit against a former player who owes the club 205,000 kronor. Multiple reports indicate the player has not paid several-year-old invoices, and the agreement between the player and Östersunds FK was verbal. Östersunds FK does not want to comment on the case at present, according to the club. The identity of the former player being sued has not been disclosed.
Media companies want to stop these fraudsters, many innocent people are affected.
Meanwhile, Attendo has submitted a lawsuit against Västerås city with a compensation claim of 24.7 million kronor. The company filed the lawsuit because the city, according to Attendo, terminated the contract on incorrect grounds. Västerås city terminated the cooperation with Attendo a year ago due to systematic fraud with time registration found by the city. Attendo presented its own investigation in the summer showing that no errors were committed, and the police investigation against Attendo has been closed. The outcome or potential settlement amount for this lawsuit is not yet known.
In another legal dispute, Eslövs Bostads AB is submitting a lawsuit against the construction company Pemasund and demanding nearly one million kronor in compensation for lost grants in a project. Pemasund built twelve new apartments at Kvarngatan 6 in Marieholm a few years ago and sold them as a company including the plot to Ebo. The deal was worth 24.4 million kronor, according to information from 2018. The current status or timeline for all these lawsuits, including those involving Attendo and Eslövs Bostads AB, has not been specified.
The ads have become more sophisticated. But if you see a video where a well-known journalist recommends buying cryptocurrency, it is probably AI-generated.
In 2024, Meta earned 137 billion kronor from these ads. We believe they should be able to do much more to prevent them from reaching users.