on the crypto
Technology giants Google, Twitter and Facebook may soon face the wrath of cryptocurrency investors in a collective lawsuit regarding the ban on cryptocurrency advertising in 2018.
A class action of Australian crypto investors
According to a report from the Daily Mail Australia, the owners of Australian cryptocurrencies, represented by the JPB Liberty law firm in Sydney, claim to have been damaged by the blockade on their advertisements and are claiming damages in the amount of Australian $ 872 million (US $ 600 million). ).
That amount could rise to $ 300 billion in total as other investors join the class action, according to the report. The advertising ban aimed to minimize damage to potential investors in initial coin offering (ICO) based scams, but it extended to everything related to the blockchain industry and, presumably, also affected the legitimate activities of the crypto sector.
The firm is also raising funds for the lawsuit from venture capitalists, litigation funders and investors and offering applicants 70% of the transaction fee and a 30% cut to lenders.
The terms of the lawsuit
Under Article 45 of the Competition and Consumer Act, Australia prohibits any "agreement, arrangement or concerted practice that has the purpose, effect or likely effect of substantially reducing competition in a market, even if such conduct does not it can be associated with the definitions of other anti-competitive behavior such as cartels ”.
The law firm explained that "A class action will be initiated against the Australian subsidiaries and parent companies of the social media giants for violations of Australian competition and consumer law", clarifying that "The class action will ask for damages. for the global losses of crypto sector members and investors.
According to the respondents, the ban on crypto advertising has plunged the revenues of the markets of the sector in question by hundreds of billions of dollars. Cryptocurrency trading volumes also decreased by 60-90%. "
The behavior of the three tech giants
Facebook, Twitter and Google have been taking action throughout 2018, even including bans in their terms of service. In May 2019, Facebook downgraded its ban on crypto activities by allowing ads involving blockchain, industry news, educational content, or cryptocurrency-related events to no longer require written approval.
Google anticipated Facebook by modifying part of its cryptocurrency policy in October 2018 and allowing regulated exchanges to buy advertisements from the tech giant in the United States and Japan.
Twitter has not yet lifted the ban on advertising for ICOs, token sales, exchanges and portfolio services. According to eMarketer.com, Google and Facebook together account for 60,9% of total online advertising spending in the United States, and this number increases when combined with affiliate platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
In addition to being a social platform, Facebook is a publicly traded company with the title FB. Currently, the Facebook shares they are priced at $ 230,71 and report a 6-month performance of + 0,16%.
