The Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) is preparing to file a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, at the Ratchada Civil Court on June 8, citing a systematic failure to protect users from rampant online fraud.
According to data from the Anti-Online Scam Centre (AOSC), Thais lost more than 7 billion baht to cybercriminals during the first four months of 2026 alone. This equates to an average loss of 62 million baht a day, or over 2.7 million baht every hour, with Facebook identified as the platform with the highest number of complaints, exceeding 50,000 cases.
Boonyuen Siritham, president of the TCC, stated on Thursday that the global tech giant has neglected its responsibilities, allowing fraudsters to use its platform to exploit vulnerable consumers across all ages and professions who placed their trust in the service.
Boonyuen added that, as a legal representative of consumers, the TCC finds it imperative to demand accountability from platform operators, marking this legal action against Meta as the first case of its kind in Thailand.
Saree Aongsomwang, secretary general of the TCC office, outlined eight core reasons driving the litigation against the social media platform.
1. The council accuses Facebook of turning a blind eye to fraudulent and illegal advertisements, such as fake investment schemes impersonating high-profile figures and celebrities, counterfeit goods and hidden online gambling promotions, indicating that the platform either lacks proper vetting or deliberately profits from ad revenues generated by illicit activities.
2. The Facebook Marketplace and regular pages have turned into hubs for distributing contraband, pirated goods, uncertified dietary supplements and dangerous weapons, underscoring a complete breakdown in content moderation.
3. The platform’s algorithm actively steers vulnerable targets towards scammers. By tracking user behaviour, the system serves tailored feeds that blend legitimate interests with deceptive ads, ensuring that users interested in investments or health supplements are repeatedly exposed to dangerous scams.
4. The TCC alleges that Meta is profiting from consumer misery. The firm generates substantial revenue by approving sponsored posts from fraudsters, which the council argues makes the platform financially complicit in the losses incurred by the public.
5. The platform’s identity verification mechanism is a failure. It allows scammers to set up "avatar" accounts easily and impersonate trusted brands to run ads without stringent background checks, leaving victims and police investigators unable to trace the actual perpetrators when fraud occurs.
6. The company has been accused of regulatory arbitrage. Facebook leverages its multinational status to bypass local compliance by registering in Thailand merely as a social media provider, despite operating a massive commercial trading ecosystem, thereby evading accountability under the current Emergency Decree on Technology Crime Prevention and Suppression.
7. The platform lacks any buyer protection or escrow systems. Unlike standard e-commerce platforms that hold payments until a product is delivered, Facebook permits unregulated direct transfers, offering zero compensation or assistance when scammers shut down pages and vanish.
8. The TCC pointed out a double standard in safety enforcement. While Meta complies with strict regulatory frameworks and filtering systems in the United States, Europe, and Australia to avoid hefty fines, it fails to enforce the same safety standards in Thailand and the wider ASEAN region, demonstrating discriminatory negligence toward Thai consumers.
To address these systemic issues, the secretary general urged the government to step up regulatory oversight by amending consumer protection laws, tightening controls on illegal advertisements and establishing a compensation fund, financed by levies on platform stakeholders to assist future victims.
