• by Wendy Davis , July 3, 2024

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee sued Meta Platforms for allegedly displaying ads that misappropriated his identity to hawk CBD gummies.

“Because Meta approved and maintained advertisements that unauthorizedly used and exploited plaintiff’s name, photograph, and likeness, plaintiff is now wrongly associated with the CBD industry and marijuana use,” Huckabee alleges in a complaint filed this week in federal district court in Delaware.

Huckabee alleges that he learned of the false endorsements in May.

His complaint references several fake ads, including one that linked to a phony Fox News site.

“Using unauthorized photographs and fictitious quotes, the advertisement claimed plaintiff was leaving his show on Trinity Broadcasting Network because of a four-year battle with an autoimmune disease,” he alleges, referring to the ad on the fake Fox News site. “Adding to this lie, the advertisement falsely claimed that Plaintiff used Fortin CBD gummies to replace opioids and painkillers.

Huckabee adds in the complaint that he has talked to “numerous fans” who believed the ads were true and purchased CBD as a result.

“Without the unauthorized use of Plaintiff’s name, photograph, and likeness, these fans would likely have never purchased the CBD product,” he alleges.

The complaint includes a claim that Meta violated an Arkansas right-of-publicity law, which gives people the right to control the commercial use of their names and images.

Huckabee's suit comes two weeks after a federal judge in California ruled that Meta must face a similar complaint by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest, who sued over fraudulent cryptocurrency ads that used his name and image.

Meta argued in that matter that it was protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. That law broadly immunizes web companies from liability for material created by advertisers and other third parties, but also has some exceptions -- including one that applies when web companies develop illegal content.

U.S. District Court Judge P. Casey Pitts in the Northern District of California rejected Meta's request for a speedy dismissal, noting that Forrest alleged that Meta helped develop the fake ads.

Section 230 also has an exception for material that infringes intellectual property rights. Huckabee says in his complaint that his claims against Meta fall within that exception, arguing that his right to control the commercial use of his image is an intellectual property right.

In 2021, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals accepted that argument in another lawsuit involving Meta. In that case, the court said news anchor Karen Hepp could proceed with a claim that Meta violated her right-of-publicity by hosting a dating ad with her photo.