A Dutch group raised serious concerns about the handling of advertisements from Metaarguing that the company violates the European Digital Services Act (DSA). Consumentenbond’s investigation of over 100 fake businesses revealed that 71% of them reach their customers via Facebook and Instagram ads. The group pointed out that Zuckerberg’s company does not carry out adequate checks on the identity of advertisers, facilitating the proliferation of scams and fraudulent activities.
According to Consumerbond, Meta displays uncooperative behavior when it comes to addressing reports of misleading advertising. Relevant authorities, including the police, find it extremely difficult to report and remove problematic ads. While Meta can remove specific ads upon request, it does not remove others related to the same business. Sandra Molenaar, director of Consumentenbond, underlined that the process required by Meta for removal is excessively onerous, suggesting that a clear report should be enough to remove all linked adverts.
The DSA states that large online platforms have an obligation to implement proactive measures to block harmful content and reduce risks to consumers. This legislation, which came into force last February, imposes transparency and responsibility requirements on companies operating in Europe. Consumentenbond has already called for action from the European Commission, which oversees DSA compliance, to hold Meta and other large platforms accountable for their actions.
More checks in the future
The European Commission has received several complaints and has launched investigations into Meta, TikTok and AliExpress to assess compliance with current regulations. Among the areas under scrutiny are advertising transparency and effectiveness in online ad tracking. Roberto Viola, director general of DG Connect, confirmed that companies will be subjected to extensive checks and could face sanctions for any violations of the DSA. The growing pressure on Meta could lead to significant changes in advertising management across the entire platform.
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