Meta created 'playbook' to fend off pressure to crack down on scammers, documents show
Internal documents reveal how Meta developed a strategic "playbook" to manage regulatory scrutiny over fraudulent advertising on its platforms, including tactics to make scam ads appear less prevalent to authorities investigating Facebook and Instagram. The documents, reviewed by journalists, show how the social media giant manipulated its own Ad Library transparency tool to create what one former employee called "regulatory theater" while resisting calls for universal advertiser verification.
Background and Context
Fraudulent advertising has surged across social media platforms in recent years, fueled by cryptocurrency payments, AI-generated content, and organized crime syndicates operating from Southeast Asia. Meta itself estimates such operations cause $63 billion in annual consumer damage worldwide. The problem has prompted regulators globally to press for stronger safeguards, particularly universal advertiser verification systems that would require all paid promoters to confirm their identities before placing ads. Google began implementing such verification in 2020, reporting that more than 90% of its advertisers are now verified, but Meta has been slower to adopt similar measures despite acknowledging their effectiveness.
Key Figures and Entities
The documents show Meta's response crystallized in Japan last year when regulators expressed alarm over investment scams and fake celebrity endorsements on Facebook and Instagram. Fearing potential mandatory verification requirements, Meta launched an enforcement blitz that included systematically scrubbing fraudulent ads from its Ad Library—a publicly searchable database intended to increase transparency. Internal documents detail how Meta identified keywords regulators used to find scam ads, then repeatedly ran those searches themselves to delete offending content, explicitly aiming to make problematic ads "not findable" for "regulators, investigators and journalists." Japanese lawmaker Fumiaki Kobayashi publicly praised the subsequent reduction in fraudulent ads, though Japan ultimately did not impose the verification rules Meta had feared.
Legal and Financial Mechanisms
Meta's internal analyses acknowledge that universal advertiser verification would significantly reduce scam activity—estimates suggest it could cut fraudulent ads by up to 29% in markets where implemented. Yet the company has resisted such measures, calculating in internal documents that verification would cost approximately $2 billion to implement and could reduce overall revenue by up to 4.8% by blocking unverified advertisers. Despite generating $164.5 billion in revenue last year—nearly all from advertising—Meta has opted for what documents describe as a "reactive only" stance: accepting verification only when legally mandated, as occurred in Taiwan where fines for non-compliance would have exceeded profits. The documents also reveal a "whack-a-mole" dynamic: when scam ads are blocked in one jurisdiction, Meta's algorithms reroute them to other markets, displacing rather than eliminating fraud.
International Implications and Policy Response
Meta's Japanese tactics became part of a "general global playbook" deployed in markets including the United States, Europe, India, Australia, Brazil and Thailand. The playbook outlines a staged approach to regulation resistance: proposing voluntary verification measures, requesting implementation time, then targeting only "new and risky" advertisers—strategies documents show successfully delayed regulations in Hong Kong, Singapore and Britain. However, regulatory pressure continues mounting. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs stated that "Meta products have persistently been the most common platforms used by scammers" and announced expanded verification requirements. The European Commission has sent a formal request for information about Meta's scam ad management, expressing "doubts about compliance." In the United States, senators have urged investigations into Meta's practices following reports that high-risk scam ads generate up to $7 billion annually for the company, while the U.S. Virgin Islands sued Meta for "knowingly and intentionally" exposing users to fraud.
Sources
This report draws on internal Meta documents reviewed by Reuters, including analyses from finance, legal, public policy and safety departments spanning 2021-2025. Additional information comes from statements provided by regulatory agencies in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and the European Union, as well as interviews with former Meta employees including Sandeep Abraham, a former fraud investigator, and Rob Leathern, former director of product management who oversaw political advertiser verification. Corporate earnings reports and public statements from Meta spokesperson Andy Stone also informed this investigation.
