Meta to ban financial ads by firms not registered with FCA
Pardon the Interruption
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Social media platform Meta – commonly known as Facebook – has agreed that it will only allow firms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority to advertise financial promotions with them, following a similar deal the FCA struck with search engine Google. The regulator said it is awaiting “clearer plans” from others including Twitter, which is being bought by billionaire Elon Musk.
The FCA, unusually perhaps, was among the wide range of organisations, MPs and campaigners who had lobbied government for months to include adverts in the online safety bill to tackle scams. After some time of seemingly unexplained resistance, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport eventually agreed to do so last month.
Big tech firms were singled out for enabling scammers during an inquiry by the Work and Pensions Committee into pension scams. Representatives of the financial services industry highlighted that they did not stop scammers from freely advertising their fraudulent products – thereby profiting from what might be proceeds of crime.
Now the FCA's chief executive Nikhil Rathi, speaking at City Week 2022 on Tuesday, highlighted the regulator’s engagement with government “to ensure scams are covered by the Online Safety Bill, or working with Google so they voluntarily changed policy to only permit FCA registered firms to advertise financial promotions with them.”
Rathi added: “Following our engagement, Meta have now promised to do the same this year. We look forward to seeing them deliver and await clearer plans from Twitter and others."
Twitter has been the subject of controversy as billionaire Elon Musk has secured the company’s agreement to buy it for $44bn with the intention of taking it private – in the process removing it from the control of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk is seeking to style himself as a defender of free speech, reigniting a debate about information and power on a social media platform which barred former US president Donald Trump from holding an account.
