Despite the Financial Supervisory Commission’s (FSC) efforts to educate the public about investment scams, people still face fraudulent advertisements and false investment claims on Facebook, Instagram and other online platforms. Even worse, some celebrities and government officials have appeared, presumably unknowingly, to endorse investment products promoted by fraudsters or criminal networks.
On Thursday last week, the commission met with Google, Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, the National Communications Commission, the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Digital Affairs, as well as several judicial and police agencies. Regulators are seeking effective measures to prevent misleading and potentially fraudulent investment advertisements from appearing on online platforms and social media. During the almost four-hour meeting, the parties concluded that closer collaboration among them is critical to stopping online fraud, with Meta pledging to remove scam advertisements within eight to 24 hours of receiving notification from the government, and Google promising to remove risky ads as soon as possible.
The meeting came after the legislature’s Finance Committee passed a provision requesting that the FSC and the Ministry of Digital Affairs address the issue of illegal investment ads on digital platforms, as an increasing number of people had been misled into making poor and risky investments, or in the worst cases were defrauded outright.
The Fair Trade Commission early last week announced that Internet personalities and livestreamers could be charged for promoting products using false or misleading claims — regardless of whether the goods or services are their own or provided by others. They could face fines of NT$50,000 to NT$25 million (US$1,621 to US$810,425) under Article 21 of the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法).
The latest developments are welcome and would help curb online fraud. It is also pleasing to see the activation of a rapid removal mechanism at Google and Facebook of ads promoting suspicious financial products or services, as well as the closer coordination and communication between public and private sectors in protecting consumers from fraudulent and misleading ads.
However, it is unclear if the efforts would back up regulators’ claim that people would see a substantial decline in fraudulent financial ads. What is certain is that those repeat offenders are still active online and continue to promise massive, risk-free and speedy returns, which highlights the need for a “responsibility mechanism” at online platforms and on social media to ensure the ads they serve are safe and trustworthy.
Online platform operators say they have ad verification programs and have pledged to enhance their requirements for advertisers, but the programs are often criticized for being inaccurate and unreliable, no matter what sophisticated technologies they claim to have deployed to detect and remove harmful ads.
Regulators should consider whether platform operators bear responsibility — such as civil liabilities or fines — with their advertisers if their ad partners are found to have made false or misleading claims, a step that could prevent scammers from entering the online ecosystem. The government must take effective steps in the fight against online fraud, and protect people from the risk of potentially immense financial and emotional harm.
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