Big tech companies like Google, Meta, and TikTok are under fresh scrutiny after the European Consumer Organisation BEUC accused them of allegedly failing to protect users from financial scams on their platforms. The complaints were filed by the BEUC and 29 consumer groups from 27 European countries.
They were sent to the European Commission and national regulators under the Digital Services Act, a law that asks major online platforms to take stronger action against illegal and harmful content.
According to the organisation, between December 2025 and March 2026, BEUC and consumer groups across 13 countries reported nearly 900 ads suspected of breaching EU law.
Out of these, the platforms took down only 27 per cent of the ads based on these notices, whereas 52 per cent of the reports were rejected or ignored. That means hundreds of financial scams are still active, reaching more than 200 million European consumers every month and risking further financial losses and other harms, as per BEUC.
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“Under the Digital Services Act, Meta, TikTok and Google are required to have effective mechanisms in place to fight fraudulent ads and reduce the risks to consumers. Unfortunately, our research shows alarming discrepancies between what these platforms claim to do and the reality of what is happening. In fact, Meta, TikTok and Google not only fail to pro-actively remove fraudulent ads but also do little when being notified about such scams,” Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, said in a statement.
Consumer groups have asked the European Commission and national regulators to investigate whether Meta, TikTok and Google are doing enough to stop financial scams on their platforms.
They also want the companies to fully follow the Digital Services Act rules, warning that fines should be imposed if they continue to fail to comply.
“It is essential to hold Meta, TikTok and Google accountable. If they fail to address the financial scams circulating on their platforms, fraudsters will continue to reach millions of European consumers daily, leaving people at risk of losing hundreds to thousands of euros to fraud,” Reyna said.
The move shows increasing global pressure on Big Tech to take stronger action against the harmful impact of social media, particularly on children and other vulnerable users.
