Internal documents reveal Meta projected it would earn $16 billion - about 10% of its 2024 revenue - from running ads for scams and banned goods1. The company shows users an estimated 15 billion "higher risk" scam advertisements daily, generating about $7 billion in annual revenue from these fraudulent ads2.
Meta's own safety staff estimated that its platforms were involved in one-third of all successful scams in the US, while in Britain, Meta's products were linked to 54% of all payments-related scam losses in 20232.
Rather than aggressively combat fraud, Meta charges suspected scammers higher ad rates as a "disincentive"2. The comp
... Show more...Internal documents reveal Meta projected it would earn $16 billion - about 10% of its 2024 revenue - from running ads for scams and banned goods1. The company shows users an estimated 15 billion "higher risk" scam advertisements daily, generating about $7 billion in annual revenue from these fraudulent ads2.
Meta's own safety staff estimated that its platforms were involved in one-third of all successful scams in the US, while in Britain, Meta's products were linked to 54% of all payments-related scam losses in 20232.
Rather than aggressively combat fraud, Meta charges suspected scammers higher ad rates as a "disincentive"2. The company's anti-fraud team operates under strict revenue limits - they can only take actions that would reduce ad revenue by 0.15% ($135 million) even though scam ads generate $7 billion yearly2.
Internal memos show Meta concluded that potential regulatory fines of up to $1 billion would be far less than their revenue from fraudulent ads2. "It is easier to advertise scams on Meta platforms than Google," stated an internal Meta review from April 20252.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone claimed these documents "present a selective view that distorts Meta's approach to fraud and scams" and said the company had "reduced user reports of scam ads globally by 58 percent" over 18 months2.
- Reuters - Meta is earning a fortune on fraudulent ads ↩︎
- Gulf Times - Internal documents show Meta is earning a fortune on fraudulent ads ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue — or $16bn — from running advertising for scams and...
Reuters (Gulf Times)
