Meta’s Expanding Exposure to Scam Ads

According to a Reuters special report by Jeff Horwitz, Meta’s internal records outline concerns about a substantial revenue stream tied to scam ads and prohibited products.

Materials reviewed by Reuters describe an intricate balance between enforcement efforts, business objectives, and the growing risk of regulatory action. Documents indicate significant financial exposure and extensive user contact with fraudulent promotions.

The documents span multiple Meta divisions from 2021 through 2025, and describe persistent failures to curb large-scale fraudulent advertising across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. They recount long-standing detection gaps, limited internal resources, and user-report systems that rarely resulted in timely enforcement.

Past focus areas included impersonation scams, high-risk markets, and advertising behaviors deemed especially damaging to Meta’s relationships with brands and public figures. Internal assessments also found that Meta was less effective than competitors at controlling scam activity, while indicating that economic and operational constraints influenced enforcement decisions.

The article details projections showing that Meta anticipated substantial revenue from ads associated with scams and banned goods, and estimates that billions of fraudulent ads reach users daily. Documents describe thresholds for banning advertisers, increased ad prices for suspected fraudsters, and extensive volumes of both paid and organic scams.

Regulatory investigations, including an SEC inquiry, are prompting deliberation about enforcement strategies and potential financial penalties. Statements from a Meta spokesperson contest the characterization of the documents and assert reductions in scam-related reports and removals.

Legal teams will find the article illustrative of potential exposures in advertising-related compliance, enforcement-threshold design, and internal risk-governance frameworks. Counsel advising clients operating digital platforms may discover Meta’s approach to balancing revenue considerations with regulatory risk instructive.

These disclosures also suggest increased scrutiny of scam ads and the need to evaluate internal auditing, transparency, and response systems against emerging enforcement standards.