Online platforms will have to ban scam ads under UK proposals to tackle fraud

The proposed measures apply to big ‘category 1’ platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The proposed measures apply to big ‘category 1’ platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Online platforms will have to ban scam ads under UK proposals to tackle fraud Range of measures announced by regulator Ofcom under new phase of implementing Online Safety Act Major tech platforms will be required to ban scam advertisers in the UK under new proposals to tackle online fraud. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X and YouTube will have to block bad actors who post fraudulent ads and prevent them from creating new accounts in a range of measures targeted at the biggest services. The potential changes include: reducing the risk of accounts being hijacked and turned into hosts for scams, ensuring that ads for banking or financial services have legal clearance, and giving law enforcement channels for identifying fraudulent ads. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, announced the proposals under the next phase of implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA), which places responsibilities on tech companies to protect users from harmful content. The scam ad requirements apply to the big “category 1” platforms such as Instagram and X, as well as Google and ChatGPT. Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom’s online safety group director, said tech groups had not done enough to combat fraudsters on their platforms. “We expect firms to take robust action to stamp out scam ads and boot out the bad actors behind them to safeguard their users,” he said. Once the new measures come into effect and become legally binding under the OSA, failure to implement them could result in fines of up to 10% of a platform’s global revenue. Ofcom urged firms to improve their anti-fraud measures immediately, but the consultation on specific steps that launched on Friday closes in October and final decisions will not be made until next year. The consumer group Which? welcomed the proposals, as it accused tech firms of treating scam ads as a “profitable income stream”, but expressed concerns that measures will not be implemented until next year. “This is very problematic at a time when breakneck advances in AI are making scams more sophisticated than ever,” said Rocio Concha, the head of policy and advocacy at Which? Last month, the Bank of England warned the public against falling for AI-generated scams after deepfake videos of Nigel Farage fighting its governor spread online . Martin Lewis, the finance expert, has repeatedly urged the government to tackle scam ads that use his image . skip past newsletter promotion after newsletter promotion UK regulator orders social media firms to adopt measures to stop viral illegal content Read more Ofcom also set out draft rules for category 1 firms on the treatment of journalistic content as part of the consultation. The proposals include: en