Poland asks EU to fine Meta €250 million over scam ads
Polish authorities have notified Meta multiple times, but the company still hasn't offered "an effective and adequate response" to the issue, the country's deputy prime minister writes.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski has requested that the European Commission impose a €250 million fine on Meta for failing to address scams and fake advertisements on its platforms, according to a letter seen by POLITICO. Gawkowski, who serves as Poland's digital affairs minister, also called for an investigation into Meta, Facebook, and Instagram's handling of scams.
The European Commission, responsible for overseeing large platforms under the Digital Services Act, has not initiated investigations into these issues nor imposed fines on social media companies for inadequate user protection. Gawkowski claims that Meta's reported removals of scams in the EU indicate that such scams are a major and persistent problem on the platform.
Polish authorities have informed Meta multiple times about fraudulent advertisements, yet only 13% of the 122 reported to Meta were removed, according to the cybersecurity team within Poland's National Research Institute. Additionally, a complaint from the consumer organization BEUC found that only 27% of fraudulent ads were removed across 13 countries from Meta, Google, and TikTok.
The Commission and Meta have not responded to inquiries from POLITICO. Gawkowski is asking for an investigation into six articles of the Digital Services Act, including risk assessment and mitigation, advertiser transparency, and mechanisms for reporting illegal content. He is also requesting a series of mitigation measures from Meta to accompany any fine.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
