Andrew Forrest clears major legal hurdles in Facebook ‘clickbait’ lawsuit

Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s lawsuit against Facebook’s parent company Meta continues after overcoming jurisdictional disputes.

Lawyers for the tech giant made their first appearance in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday, acknowledging that the court has jurisdiction, paving the way for criminal proceedings against alleged clickbait ads.

Forrest, founder of Fortescue Metals Group, claims it was criminally reckless to allow Fortescue Metals Group to place fake ads with his image on its site.

The three complaints allege that Facebook did not take sufficient steps to remove fraudulent ads featuring the billionaire and other prominent Australians.

In a separate civil lawsuit that started in March, ACCC alleges that fraud cost one user more than $650,000.

Mehta had previously challenged the court’s authority to hear the case.

Simon Clarke, who represents Forest, said outside the court that it was a landmark day as it was the first time Meta had granted jurisdiction in Australia.

“Usually they put you in a bit of a fight for two to three years,” he said.

The brief hearings focused primarily on filings related to parallel federal court cases filed by consumer watchdog agencies.