US Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal have called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate revenue from advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that promote scams and banned goods. In a letter to the agencies, they urged immediate investigations and potential enforcement actions, including forcing Meta to disgorge profits and pay penalties.
The senators cited a Reuters report from late 2024, which revealed internal documents showing Meta projected to earn about $16bn—roughly 10% of its annual revenue—from illicit advertising that year. One document noted that Meta earned $3.5bn every six months from “higher risk” scam ads. Other documents indicated that Meta’s anti-fraud rules often did not apply to ads that regulators and staff believed violated the spirit of its policies.
Meta responded to the Reuters report by stating it had reduced user reports of scams by 58% over the past 18 months. A Meta spokesman, Andy Stone, described the senators' claims as “exaggerated and wrong,” adding that the company aggressively fights fraud and scams. However, Hawley and Blumenthal expressed skepticism, pointing to Meta’s Ad Library, which they said contained ads for illicit gambling, payment scams, crypto scams, AI deepfake sex services, and fake federal benefits offers.
The senators noted that Meta itself estimated its platforms were involved in a third of all US scams, while the FTC reported Americans lost $158.3bn to scams last year. They criticised Meta for cutting safety staff while investing heavily in generative AI projects. They also highlighted concerns about fake ads impersonating the US government or politicians, such as a bogus ad claiming Donald Trump offered $1,000 to food assistance recipients, and noted that beneficiaries of these scams often include cybercrime groups based in China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
