Social media giant Facebook has filed a lawsuit in the US Federal Court against Hutt Valley-based company Social Media Series and three people.
According to a blog post, Facebook will allege that the company and the three people operated a service that provided fake likes, views and followers to Instagram users.
"The complaint alleges the company and individuals used different companies and websites to sell fake engagement services to Instagram users," Facebook stated. "We previously suspended accounts associated with the defendants and formally warned them in writing that they were in violation of our terms of use, however their activity persisted."
Facebook also said that the lawsuit is a form of sending a message that this kind of "fraudulent activity" is not tolerated and it will act to protect the "integrity of the platform".
The US$9.4 million (NZ$14.1 million) lawsuit will request the business and the people associated with it be prevented from engaging and profiting in the sale of fake likes, views and followers on Instagram and from violating Facebook's terms of use and community guidelines.
It will also request the defendants be prevented from violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and other California laws for distributing fake likes on Instagram even after their access was revoked and their accounts were suspended.
"Inauthentic activity has no place on our platform," Facebook stated.