Martin Lewis drops Facebook lawsuit

Consumer campaigner Martin Lewis has dropped a defamation lawsuit against Facebook over a series of ads that ran on its platform, falsely claiming he backed several investment schemes.

The MoneySavingExpert website founder had claimed the fake endorsements had caused him reputational damage.

He said he had agreed to drop the case after Facebook agreed to introduce a scam ads reporting button.

In addition, Facebook will donate £3m to a new Citizens Advice project.

The scheme, which will launch in May, will be dedicated to fighting scams.

“The amount being donated to set up the Citizens Advice scams action project is far above anything I could’ve won had I succeeded in a court,” Mr Lewis said in a statement.

“The aim of my campaigning lawsuit was always to stop scam ads, and to help those who have fallen victim to them.

“What we’re announcing today does that at a far bigger scale than I could’ve hoped for.”

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