Months ago, Meta claimed it removed 8,000 so-called "celeb bait" advertising, as part of an initiative with Australian banks to eliminate frauds using photos of famous people to mislead customers into bogus investment programs.
In an effort against financial and social media scam prevention, Meta vowed to tighten guidelines on marketers to combat fraudulent advertising aimed at Australians on both Facebook and Instagram.
On Monday, the 2nd of December, 2024, Social media giant Meta set new guidelines for advertisements pushing financial goods or services to Australians, including a mandate for those advertising investment plans to provide credentials.
Precursor to Meta’s New Approach to Social Media Scam Prevention
The software giant Meta has been under increasing pressure to enhance its advertising verification process after an investigation revealed it was receiving payments to promote infamous fraudulent advertisements to thousands of Australians.
A website parading as an Ukrainian women's apparel store was only one of the many financial scams Meta had been able to flag as a fake investment firm. Doctored footage of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared in a few of these advertisements.
According to proposals unveiled last month by the centre-left government of Australia, internet platforms that fail to take measures to prevent the spread of disinformation online might face fines of up to five percent of their worldwide income.
In the run-up to the federal election in about a year’s time, the law had been a component of a broad regulatory crackdown by Canberra, where politicians have voiced concerns about internet platforms based outside infringing on the country's sovereignty.
Details of Meta’s New Ad Rules
Meta states that advertisers are now required to verify their Australian Financial Services Licence number, payer and beneficiary data, and more before running financial services advertising.
Upon verification, Meta states that marketers must provide their payer and beneficiary details in their advertisements as well. After the advertisement is authorised, this information will be included in a "Paid for By" disclaimer.
If the Australian Securities and Investments Commission requests for the advertisers’ Financial Services License number, or if they are required to show government-issued ID or company credentials, then they are mandated to do so according to the new Meta ad rules Australia.
Comments from Managing Director of Meta Australia and New Zealand
In a bid to make progress in the Australian financial advertising crackdown, these stringent measures have become necessary. In the words of Will Easton, the Managing Director, “Meta recognises the devastating impact that finance and investment scams can have on Australian consumers."
“...The introduction of financial advertiser verification is an important additional step towards protecting people in Australia from these sophisticated scammers, who try to impersonate legitimate financial institutions and advertisers.”
Wrapping Up
One of the objectives of the laws the Australian government proposed is to place banks, telecoms, and digital platforms under liability for victim compensation should they fail to satisfy the requirements of the new obligatory scam code requirements.
Meta has indicated that the ad verification updates will start getting rolled out over the following month. The rollout is scheduled to be completed in February 2025.