A recent report by Reuters suggests that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, earns up to 10% of its total revenue from online scam advertising. Released on 6 November, the report is based on internal Meta documents examined by Reuters. It alleges that Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, have exposed billions of users to fraudulent investment schemes, illegal online casinos, and banned medical product promotions. The estimated revenue from these scam ads is between $7 billion to $16 billion.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which has previously criticized Meta for inadequate removal of illegal gambling advertisements, described the report as “very worrying.” Commissioner Derek Fernandez emphasized the seriousness of the issue, expressing that it is both “disturbing” and a matter of “grave concern.”
In response to the report, Meta’s spokesperson Andy Stone claimed that Reuters presented a “selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams.” Despite the criticism, Meta maintains that it actively manages its platforms to prevent fraudulent activities, as stated by Director of Public Policy Rafael Frankel. He affirmed, “We don’t need any licence to continue that work,” implying that Meta’s efforts are independent of local licensing regulations.
Starting from January, Malaysia has mandated all social media and messaging services with a user base of at least eight million to obtain a license to operate. The penalties for non-compliance can include fines of $118,500 and imprisonment for up to five years. Despite these regulations, the MCMC reports that Malaysians have lost nearly $60 million from 2023 to August 2025 due to e-commerce scams advertised primarily on Meta platforms. The government has already issued over 168,000 requests this year to remove illegal content from Facebook, with a focus on online gaming and gambling-related posts.
Malaysian Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has voiced concerns over Meta’s cooperation in combating cybercrime, noting that the figures indicate significant room for improvement. According to the Reuters investigation, Meta’s policy is not to ban advertisers until there is at least a 95% certainty of illegal activity. In cases where Meta suspects advertisers are scammers, it reportedly charges higher rates for advertisements instead of taking down the ads.
Meta’s practice of analyzing consumer data to tailor advertisements based on user engagement means that users who interact with scam ads are likely to encounter similar content more frequently. This approach raises questions about the effectiveness of Meta’s self-regulation efforts to combat cybercrime and protect users.
Fernandez has proposed the introduction of a “public safety and online-harm rating system” for digital platforms, aiming to assess their transparency and effectiveness in managing harmful content. This system could serve as a benchmark for platforms in terms of public safety compliance and user protection measures.
The persistence of such issues on one of the world’s largest social networks raises debates about the need for more stringent regulations in the digital advertising space. Minister Fahmi highlighted the failure to block credit card transactions used to purchase illegal ads, arguing that Facebook’s allowance of such transactions, despite knowing the content is unlawful in Malaysia, exemplifies a significant oversight on Meta’s part. “If a gambling ad is paid for using a credit card and Facebook knows this content is illegal in Malaysia, they should block the account. But Facebook has refused to do so,” Fahmi criticized.
Offering a second viewpoint, fraud consultant Sandeep Abraham, who previously worked as a Meta safety investigator, supported the call for regulatory action. He reasoned that if financial regulators would not permit banks to profit from fraudulent activities, similar standards should apply to tech companies. “If regulators wouldn’t tolerate banks profiting from fraud, they shouldn’t tolerate it in tech,” he remarked to Reuters.
As digital platforms continue to expand globally, the challenge of regulating content and ensuring user safety becomes increasingly complex. The debate over Meta’s role in enabling scam ads and the broader implications for the tech industry underscores the ongoing tension between innovation, regulation, and responsibility. With governments and regulatory bodies scrutinizing the practices of tech giants, the balance between self-regulation and governmental oversight remains a contentious issue.
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