Tech giants such as Meta do not need further guidance about tackling fraud on their platforms and can “get on and do it”, the boss of the UK’s financial watchdog has said at it clamps down on so-called “finfluencers”.
Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said fraud is set to be one of the most “profound issues” facing regulators over the next few years.
The boss was asked by MPs on the Treasury Committee whether he would like to see stronger guidance to technology platforms about how to take down fraud and their responsibilities in relation to the Online Safety Act.
“I think they know what to do,” Mr Rathi told the committee.
“I don’t think they need guidance. There’s plenty of cases where they can get on and do it.”
The Online Safety Act will require platforms to put in place and enforce safety measures to ensure that users, particularly children, do not encounter illegal or harmful content, and if they do that it is quickly removed.
The FCA has stepped up its crackdown on financial influencers, or “finfluencers”, with numerous take down requests on social media platforms and a handful of arrests.
The watchdog’s boss was asked whether tech firms were too slow to tackle fraud on their platforms.
“We have to operate within our powers, we can’t force the tech firms to take down promotions that we see as problematic and we rely on co-operation from them,” he said.
“I would not say that all tech firms don’t co-operate.
“There are some that have invested very significantly, they are proactive, they are responsive and once they’ve decided to move we’ve seen significant improvements on their platform.”
Referring to Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, he said the issue was both the speed at which harmful content was taken down and that new accounts were being created with “almost identical content”.
Mr Rathi said Ofcom – which oversees online platforms’ safety systems – was “understandably” prioritising child protection and sexual exploitation offences and would “get to fraud next year”.
Pressed further on tech giants being held to account on fraud, Mr Rathi said: “I think this is going to be one of the most profound issues facing financial regulation for the next several years.
“We talk about big tech firms entering financial services, well many have already entered and provide systemic services adjacent to financial services.”
