Senators Urge Federal Probes Into Meta Over Alleged Illicit Ad Revenue

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal have called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Meta Platforms after a Reuters report revealed the company may have generated billions from advertisements promoting scams and banned goods. In a letter to the agencies, the senators urged immediate action to force Meta to return profits, pay penalties, and halt the running of such ads.

The Reuters investigation found Meta documents from late 2024 estimating that around 10% of its annual revenue—roughly $16 billion—came from illicit advertising. The documents also noted that Meta earns about $3.5 billion every six months from “higher-risk” scam ads, while many fraudulent promotions appeared to bypass the company’s own anti-fraud policies. Meta rejected the claims as “exaggerated and wrong,” asserting that user reports of scams have dropped by 58% over eighteen months.

Hawley and Blumenthal expressed skepticism, pointing to Meta’s public Ad Library, which they said still features ads for gambling scams, deepfake sexual content, crypto fraud, and fake government offers. Citing internal estimates that Meta’s platforms are tied to one-third of all U.S. scams, the senators suggested this could translate to more than $50 billion in consumer losses. They also raised concerns about political deepfake ads targeting Americans, stating that many campaigns originate from cybercrime groups overseas.

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