Polish billionaire ‘Locker King’ considers legal action against Meta over deepfake ads

Brzoska, who is known as the “King of Lockers” as the founder and CEO of parcel locker company InPost SA, won the award ban Last week, Meta was temporarily banned from posting fake ads using images of him and his wife in Poland.

But he said a three-month ban by the Polish Personal Data Protection Office did not stop new fake images of him and his wife, Omena Mensah, a local TV personality. Brzoska is now waiting for a similar ban from Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which oversees Facebook’s Dublin headquarters. And he is considering legal action.

“This is going to be a long-term fight, and I want to find out how much revenue is coming from ads that use deepfakes for fraudulent purposes,” Brzoska said in an interview. He added that he wants to convince other prominent Poles to step up their cause and pressure Meta to better distinguish between fake and legitimate content.

Meta is facing growing pressure around the world to stop the rise of scams that use artificial intelligence tools and celebrity images to lure victims. A U.S. judge this year ruled that Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest can sue the parent company of Facebook and Instagram for using his image to fraudulently endorse cryptocurrency products despite a legal shield that protects social media companies from liability for user content.

A Meta spokesperson said the company removes false content when it becomes aware of it and is evaluating the Polish regulator’s decision.

Brzoska called the ban the first such move in the European Union based on the bloc’s data protection rules. The businessman said the fake ads, which sometimes included false information about the couple, could negatively impact his family’s charitable activities.

“I’m currently spending a lot of time taking down deepfakes,” he said. “Someone needs to be held accountable for spreading criminal acts.”