Senators want FTC, SEC investigation into Meta making billions on scam ads

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, will make billions of dollars off of scam

advertisements this year, and they know it. Now, two U.S. senators are calling for the FTC

and SEC to investigate whether the company is facilitating and profiting from criminal

and fraudulent activity. Earlier this month, a Reuters investigation found internal meta

documents that showed the company expected to earn up to $16 billion in 2024, running

advertisements for scams or banned goods. The documents also show that the company estimated

it displays 15 billion higher-risk scam advertisements to users every day. Here are a few examples from Reuters. A fake Elon Musk partnership with an investment management

company. A fake President Trump claiming to give $710 in government benefits to all Americans

And even a fake legal advertisement directed at those who fell for fake scams

claiming they can help you get your money back. These ads are good examples of what people often see Fake government benefit schemes criminal investment scams and even deepfake pornography Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said Reuters report distorts the company approach to scams and

fraud. Stone said, 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

That answer wasn't good enough for Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley, who are now

calling for the investigation. They wrote, Meta's central facilitating role in scams against

consumers is unprecedented. By its own employee's assessment, Meta was involved in one-third of all

successful scams in the U.S. and was unmatched by other big tech platforms. The senators say if the

FTC and SEC can verify the Reuters report, Meta should be forced to give up all profits from those

ads, pay civil penalties, hold individual executives accountable, and enter into a binding

agreement that would require the company to end scam ads. I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Hour News

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