Complaints were lodged against Alphabet's Google, Meta Platforms, and TikTok by European Union consumer groups for reportedly not safeguarding users from financial scams on their sites, exposing them to potential regulatory penalties.
The action underscores escalating global demand for Big Tech to enhance efforts in mitigating the harmful effects of social media, especially for children and at-risk users.
The grievances, lodged by the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) along with 29 of its affiliates across 27 European nations, were presented to the European Commission and national authorities under the Digital Services Act, mandating that major online platforms take greater action against unlawful and harmful content.
"Meta, TikTok, and Google not only do not actively eliminate fraudulent advertisements but also take minimal action when alerted to these scams," stated BEUC Director General Agustin Reyna.
"Without addressing the financial scams present on their platforms, fraudsters will keep targeting millions of European consumers every day, putting individuals at risk of losing hundreds to thousands of euros to deception," he stated.
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Google and Meta dismissed the allegations, stating they take proactive measures to safeguard their users.
A Google representative stated: "This accusation mischaracterizes our approach to combating scams and is fundamentally flawed. We implement rigorous actions to prevent scams on our platforms, blocking more than 99 percent of ads that violate policies before they can be viewed.
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Meta reported that it identified and eliminated more than 159 million fraudulent ads last year, with 92 percent of them taken down prior to any user complaints. "We allocate resources to cutting-edge AI, technologies, and collaborations to prevent them," a representative stated.
TikTok stated that it addresses violations and noted that scams present a challenge across the industry as malicious actors continually adjust their strategies.
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Consumer organizations stated that they had flagged almost 900 advertisements believed to violate EU regulations from December of last year to March of this year; however, the platforms removed only 27 percent of those ads, while 52 percent of the complaints were disregarded or dismissed.