The Thai government is taking the unprecedented step of seeking a court order to force Facebook to block all crypto-related advertising, alleging the social media giant failed to properly screen for false and deceptive advertisements.
The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has lodged an appeal with the Administrative Court of Thailand to shut down Facebook’s advertising services in the country. According to a local news report, the regulator complained that Facebook has done nothing to curb a flood of fake cryptocurrency-related ads.
The move comes after the SEC conducted a thorough investigation into Bangkok-based Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA) and found it had lied about its services.
The regulator found that BXA’s ads ran on the social media platform and that Facebook was aware of their deceptive content but had failed to take action to address them. The SEC is now demanding that Facebook take the necessary steps to address the issue or face a possible court-imposed shutdown.
A Facebook spokesperson told The Associated Press that the company was “supportive of Thailand’s effort to protect investors from scams,” and continued to work closely with the SEC to ensure compliance.
The ruling could have a major impact on the global blockchain ecosystem, as Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms and a significant source of advertising for many crypto projects. If the ruling is upheld, any blockchain-related project that wishes to advertise on Facebook will have to rethink their advertising strategy.
