Meta, the U.S. tech giant, has repeatedly failed to block illegal advertisements for high-risk financial products on its British platforms, despite pledges to do so. This is according to a review by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Meta operates platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. These platforms are used by billions of people globally. The company provides a suite of products and services that allow people to connect and share with friends and family, and discover new things.
The FCA found over one week in November that 1,052 ads for currency trading and complex financial instruments were posted on Meta’s platforms by unauthorised advertisers. More than half of these ads came from entities already flagged to Meta by the FCA. The regulator focused on Meta’s platforms due to the high volume of suspicious financial ads appearing there. The FCA review was limited to ads for foreign exchange trading and contracts for difference (CFDs), identifying them as particularly high risk.
Meta said that advertisers running financial services ads in Britain are required to be authorised by the FCA and comply with applicable law. A Meta spokesperson, Ryan Daniels, stated that the company aggressively combats fraud and scams globally. They added that swift action is taken on the vast majority of reports within days. However, the FCA stated that it had failed to see a material difference in Meta’s approach, despite regular engagement, and will continue to test the company’s controls and monitoring systems.
The Online Safety Act, set to be fully in force by 2025, allows regulators to fine social media companies up to 10% of global revenue for running illegal user-generated content. However, the provision for scam ads has been delayed until at least 2027. In the meantime, Fraud Minister David Hanson said he expects tech firms to act faster to combat scams. He will continue to raise the issue with Meta and other platforms.
