Danish pension provider, PFA, together with the US state of Ohio, has been appointed to lead a lawsuit against Facebook/Meta Inc.

The intention of the legal action, which will take place in California, is to seek compensation for price losses caused by the company’s alleged misleading market information.

The plaintiff argues that Facebook/Meta misled investors on a number of issues during the period of the lawsuit (April 29, 2021 to October 21, 2021), including how an algorithm change intended to increase user engagement led to misinformation and harmful content of various types became disproportionately widespread.

In addition, PFA said that despite public assurances that Facebook applies standards of conduct equally to all users, the company built a system that exempted millions of high-profile users. This was revealed in an internal investigation at Facebook in 2019. The information about the company's unwillingness to protect its users became public knowledge through investigations by journalists at The Wall Street Journal and a whistleblower from the company.

The pension provider said that Facebook/Meta Inc.'s misinformation to the market led to a significant price drop and damage to its investors. The Federal District Court in the Northern District of California, which oversees the investor case against the company, has subsequently chosen PFA Pension and the State of Ohio (Ohio Public Employees Retirement System) to conduct the case in order to seek compensation for the losses suffered by the affected investors (class action).

PFA Pension will act as a so-called 'class representative' to represent the interests of PFA's customers and the other investors worldwide. PFA also has a sustainable development interest in conducting the case to ensure that Facebook / Meta inc. henceforth acts in a way that ensures a healthy life for everyone and promotes wellbeing for all age groups (UN Global Goal 3 on health and wellbeing).

Commenting, PFA Asset Management COO, Rasmus Bessing, said: "At PFA, we have a responsibility to invest our customers' pension savings responsibly. As investors, we must be able to trust that the listed companies in which we invest our clients' money provide timely, complete and accurate information to us and the rest of the market.

“Additionally, we believe that Facebook/Meta Inc., as one of the world's largest content providers and social media, has a responsibility to uphold its publicly stated obligations to apply its standards of conduct equally to all users and to take appropriate steps to prevent proliferation of misinformation or harmful content.”

European Pensions has contacted Meta for a response.

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