SP-Indonesia.com, Indonesia – Alphabet-owned Google, Meta Platforms, and TikTok have been criticized by European Union consumer groups for failing to protect users from the rise of financial fraud on their platforms, potentially facing regulatory sanctions.
This move adds to global pressure on large technology companies to more seriously address the negative impacts of social media, especially on children and vulnerable user groups.
The complaint was filed by the European Consumer Organization (ECO) along with 29 of its member organizations in 27 European countries with the European Commission and national regulators under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA requires large online platforms to take stronger steps to address illegal and harmful content, including financial fraud ads.
BEUC Director General Agustin Reyna said the platforms were deemed to have failed to act quickly against the widespread fraudulent ads.
“Meta, TikTok, and Google not only failed to proactively remove fraudulent ads but also did little when notified of the scams,” Reyna said in an official statement on Thursday (May 21, 2026).
He warned that if these companies did not immediately tighten their oversight, fraudsters would continue to reach millions of European consumers every day and cause significant financial losses.
Google and Meta denied the allegations and asserted that they had taken various steps to protect users.
Google said the complaint did not accurately reflect the company’s efforts to combat digital fraud.
“We take extensive steps to prevent fraud on our platform, blocking more than 99 percent of policy-violating ads before users see them,” a Google spokesperson said.
Meta, meanwhile, claims to have discovered and removed more than 159 million fraudulent ads last year, with 92 percent of those taken action before users reported them.
Meta also stated that it continues to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, detection tools, and partnerships to combat online fraud.
TikTok said it has also taken action against various violations and considers digital fraud to be an industry-wide challenge as criminals continue to evolve their methods.
A European consumer group revealed that it reported nearly 900 ads suspected of violating EU law between December 2025 and March 2026.
However, only about 27 percent of the ads were removed, while 52 percent of the reports were reportedly rejected or ignored by the platforms concerned.
The BEUC urged EU regulators to conduct in-depth investigations into the tech companies’ compliance with the DSA rules and impose sanctions if violations are found.
The DSA rules allow fines for tech companies to reach up to 6 percent of their total global annual turnover.
(Singapore Reporter: Tri Astuty)
