U.S. lawmakers have asked the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an investigation into Meta Platforms (META), Reuters reported on Monday, following a report from the news outlet about the ad revenue the social media and tech giant generated from promoting scams and banned items on Facebook and Instagram.
“The FTC and SEC should immediately open investigations and, if the reporting is accurate, pursue vigorous enforcement action where appropriate to force Meta to disgorge profits, pay penalties, and agree to cease running such advertisements,” U.S. Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal reportedly said in a letter to the federal agencies.
“Even a short review of Meta’s Ad Library at the time of this letter shows clearly identifiable advertisements for illicit gambling, payment scams, crypto scams, AI deepfake sex services, and fake offers of federal benefits,” they wrote.
A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that the claims made by senators Hawley and Blumenthal are “exaggerated and wrong.” “We aggressively fight fraud and scams because people on our platforms don’t want this content, legitimate advertisers don’t want it, and we don’t want it either.”
Earlier this month, Reuters reported, citing internal documents, that Meta expected to earn about $16B, or 10% of its revenue, in 2024 from illicit advertising. That report alleged Meta earns $3.5B in revenue from “higher risk” scam ads every six months.
The previous report also stated that Meta’s anti-fraud rules didn’t appear to apply to many ads that regulators and the company’s own staff believed “violated the spirit” of its rules against scam advertising.