Facebook advertisers can pursue class action over ad rates

FILE PHOTO: 3D-printed images of the logos of Facebook and parent company Meta Platforms are seen on a laptop keyboard in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday that a lawsuit accusing Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook of deceiving advertisers about its "potential reach" tool can proceed as a class action.

The decision by U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco allows potentially millions of individuals and businesses that paid for ads on Facebook and its photo-sharing app Instagram since Aug. 15, 2014 to sue as a group.