Meta has long been lambasted in journalistic research and by the UK Gambling Commission’s top brass, among other parties of interest, over the company’s leniency on illegal gambling ads – and fraudulent advertising that is allowed on platforms such as Instagram and especially Facebook.
Meta has supposedly been aware of the issue but has been tentative about trimming down the number of these ads, as they still bring a valuable revenue stream, some media outlets, such as Reuters, have suggested.
However, the company is now sending a clear signal that enough is enough and that it will tighten its crackdown on illegal gambling advertisements. In 2025, Meta is reported to have removed 159 million fraudulent ads along with 10.9 million accounts across its flagship social media platforms.
This news comes as a broader push led by tech bros against scammers who are beginning to significantly deteriorate the quality of the experience for users.
The UK Gambling Commission has been particularly frustrated with Meta and argued that if it can see which the illegal ads are, so should the company.
Meta has also signed a new international UN-led agreement that will see technological giants pool efforts to address scams and fraud that continue to percolate on their platforms.
On Monday, the company joined Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Pinterest, among others, at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, Austria.
The move is designed to create a cross-border cooperation that leads to meaningful results and uproots fraudulent practices from mainstream platforms. In December, a Reuters report argued that Meta was profiting by allowing fraudulent Chinese ads.
The company’s most recent actions, however, suggest that it is stepping up efforts to disassociate itself from any past missteps in that regard.
