Meta estimates that it earns 10% of its revenue from scams, report says


Last year, Meta projected that 10% of its overall annual revenue — $16 billion — would come from fraudulent advertisements on its apps, according to a report from Reuters.

The documents accessed by Reuters also show that for three years, Meta failed to protect its users from ads promoting illegal gambling, investment schemes, and banned medical products. These fraudulent ads purport to offer a product or service that isn’t real and may be intended to solicit payments from less savvy users.

Image Credits:Facebook (Screenshot by Reuters)

Meta has a system for detecting the likelihood that an advertising campaign is a scam, but the company only deactivates an advertiser’s account if it is 95% sure that the advertiser is committing fraud. Otherwise, Meta will charge more money from advertisers that it suspects may be doing fraud as a way to discourage them from buying more advertising — but when those advertisers follow through anyway, it pads Meta’s bottom line.

TechCrunch contacted Meta for comment but did not hear back before publication. Per Reuters’ report, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone claimed that the documents Reuters used “present a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams.”

Stone added that over the last 18 months, Meta has reduced user reports of scam ads by 58%, and the company has removed over 134 million scam ads from its platforms.



Source link

  • Related Posts

    Signs Your Gut Is Unhealthy and the 4 Ways to Restore It

    An unhealthy gut can look like more than just a casual stomachache. After all, Gail Cresci, a microbiome expert at the Cleveland Clinic, describes the microorganisms inside your gut as…

    Interstellar Arc Serves Up Alien Foxes, Exoplanets, and VR Carl Sagan

    The physical space presents other technical challenges. One is the volume of people: Interstellar Arc can accommodate up to 170 participants at once, Raphaël says, quite a crowd even in…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    Man suspected of killing wife in California extradited to U.S. from Peru

    Man suspected of killing wife in California extradited to U.S. from Peru

    Crowd gathers to mourn victims of Bondi Beach shooting

    Crowd gathers to mourn victims of Bondi Beach shooting

    Nancy Pelosi calls female US president in her lifetime unlikely: ‘Marble ceiling’ | Nancy Pelosi

    Nancy Pelosi calls female US president in her lifetime unlikely: ‘Marble ceiling’ | Nancy Pelosi

    Emirates Adds New Shortest Airbus A380 Flights

    Emirates Adds New Shortest Airbus A380 Flights

    Signs Your Gut Is Unhealthy and the 4 Ways to Restore It

    Signs Your Gut Is Unhealthy and the 4 Ways to Restore It

    Katamari Damacy creator wants industry to “make more fun and weird games”, as he admits his latest To a T “didn’t sell well”

    Katamari Damacy creator wants industry to “make more fun and weird games”, as he admits his latest To a T “didn’t sell well”