Poland urges EU to fine Meta €250 million for scams and false ads

WARSAW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Poland has asked the European Commission to impose a €250 million ($291.30 million) fine on Meta Platforms, its digital affairs minister said on Thursday, accusing the social media company of failing to adequately tackle fraudulent advertisements.

It is the latest criticism of Meta's practices after the U.S. tech giant was ordered to pay $18 billion under an agreement with U.S. states, announced on Wednesday, to resolve claims it designed its social media platforms to addict children.

Poland accuses Meta of publishing fraudulent adverts and not taking them down when notified.

"We have hard evidence that the platform isn't acting in the best interests of users, but rather in its own self-interest, which allows it to monetize deceptive advertising," Polish digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski told a press conference.

In a letter dated August 26 to the European Commission, the minister cited tests conducted by CERT Polska, the national cybersecurity incident response team, which identified 122 advertisements classified as fraudulent.

Gawkowski said that in 106 cases, or 86.8% of reports, Meta had decided not to remove the advertisements. Only 10 ads were removed, while in six cases no response was provided.

"The time has passed for us to say 'improve yourselves', they say 'we are improving', but citizens still don't feel it. Now the time has come for penalties," Gawkowski said.

He also called on Meta to "immediately introduce effective tools to eliminate scams, false advertising, and the promotion of illegal applications."

Meta, in a statement provided to Reuters, said it was making every effort to stop fraud on its platforms.

"Scammers are persistent criminals who use increasingly sophisticated tactics. That's why we continue to invest heavily in technologies and partnerships - with industry and law enforcement - to find, remove, and ultimately stop scammers," the statement said.

Gawkowski said that during the upcoming G20 summit he would seek to persuade European leaders to jointly speak out against what he described as Meta's practices.

"This should be a joint initiative that will demonstrate that we have strong arguments and are determined to curb Meta's actions," he said.

Considering the scale of Meta's operations and the damage caused to users in Poland, Gawkowski said a fine of €250 million "could constitute a real and deterrent enforcement measure."

In 2024, Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska sued Meta over fake advertisements on Facebook and Instagram, saying they featured his face and gave false information regarding his wife.

The Warsaw appellate court ruled in April this year that Meta was responsible for adverts it hosts on its platforms. Meta argued in court that it was not responsible for the fraudulent actions of its users.

($1 = 0.8582 euros)

(Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz, Marek Strzelecki and Anna Koper; Editing by Louise Heavens and Susan Fenton)