Poland has asked the European Commission to fine Meta $290 million, alleging that the company failed to remove fraudulent ads despite repeated reports.
Warsaw: Meta Platforms is facing fresh regulatory pressure in Europe after Poland urged the European Commission to impose a $290 million (€250 million) penalty over the company’s handling of fraudulent advertisements on its platforms.
Poland’s Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Meta had failed to adequately address scam and misleading advertisements despite reports from the country’s cybersecurity authorities.
The proposed Meta $290 million EU fine follows an investigation by CERT Polska, Poland’s national cybersecurity incident response team.
Poland reports widespread failure to remove scam ads
CERT Polska identified 122 advertisements that it considered fraudulent during its tests.
According to Gawkowski, Meta declined to remove 106 of the reported advertisements, representing about 86.8% of the total.
Ten advertisements were removed, while six reportedly received no response from the company.
“We have hard evidence that the platform isn’t acting in the best interests of users,” Gawkowski said at a press conference.
He argued that regulators should move beyond asking Meta to improve its systems and impose financial penalties to discourage the spread of scams, misleading advertising and promotions for illegal applications.
Meta says it is fighting online fraud.
Meta disputed the suggestion that it was not taking action against fraudulent activity.
In a statement to Reuters, the company said it continues to invest in measures designed to detect and remove scams from its platforms.
Meta also said fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated methods and that the company is working with industry partners and law enforcement agencies to identify and tackle fraudulent activity.
The proposed penalty would still require action at the European level. Poland is seeking support from other European governments and plans to raise the issue at the upcoming G20 summit.
Fake ads have already triggered legal action.
The latest dispute follows a separate case involving Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska.
Brzoska sued Meta over allegedly fraudulent advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that used his image and made false claims about his wife.
In April, a Warsaw appellate court ruled that Meta could potentially be held responsible for advertisements hosted on its platforms.
Meta had argued that it should not be liable for fraudulent activity carried out by users.
Meta faces pressure on multiple fronts.
The proposed Meta $290 million EU fine adds to a growing list of regulatory and legal challenges facing the company.
The move comes shortly after Meta agreed to pay $18 billion as part of a settlement with US states over allegations concerning the design of its social media platforms and their effects on children.
For Meta, the Polish complaint puts another issue under the spotlight: whether social media companies are doing enough to prevent fraudulent advertising from reaching users.
For European regulators, the proposed penalty could also become a test of how aggressively platforms should be held accountable when reported scams remain online.
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