Ofcom Draft Rules Require Platforms to Curb Scam Ads, with Fines Possible

Ofcom published draft measures requiring platforms including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to take action against scam advertisements. The regulator said more than half of UK adults have encountered potentially fraudulent ads online, with over a third seeing them often. Firms that fail to comply could face fines of £18 million or 10 percent of global turnover, whichever is greater.

The measures target content that misleads or tricks viewers and require platforms to ban accounts posting scams and to prevent impersonation of real businesses. " He added that platforms should begin improvements immediately and that sites failing legal duties once in force can expect serious consequences.

Ofcom listed services facing the toughest requirements under the Online Safety Act, including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Quora, Reddit, Roblox, Snapchat, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and YouTube.

It is monitoring Apple's iMessage, Meta's Messenger and Threads, and Wikipedia as potential emerging Category 1 services. Category 1 services must maintain systems to prevent users from encountering fraudulent ads and to remove reported content swiftly. The regulator's consultation on the proposals runs until 2 October.

Described the publication as a significant step but said the timeline leaves consumers unprotected until 2027 at the earliest. On Friday the UK's advertising watchdog warned that claims in some portable air conditioning unit advertisements on Facebook and YouTube were too good to be true.

In early June concerns were raised over advertisements on X that used fake AI-generated images of Reform leader Nigel Farage fighting Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.