California, USA: Internal documents from the tech giant Meta have unveiled a staggering financial reality, exposing that the company generates billions of dollars annually by running deceptive and prohibited advertisements across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. These revelations raise severe ethical questions about Meta’s commitment to user protection.
According to the international news agency Reuters, an internal company estimate made late last year suggests that Meta was poised to earn approximately 10 percent of its total annual revenue—around $16 billion—from fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos, and the sale of prohibited medical items.
The previously undisclosed documents also indicate that the social media company has consistently failed to effectively identify and protect its billions of users on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp from these fraudulent and illegal sales ads for at least the past three years. This failure suggests a prioritizing of profit over user safety.
A December 2024 document revealed that Meta shows users an estimated average of 15 billion highly dangerous fraudulent advertisements (ads with clear signs of deceit) daily on its platforms. Another document from 2024 estimated that Meta earns approximately $7 billion annually from this “fraud” category alone. These findings highlight deep vulnerabilities within Meta’s advertising system and the profound financial and emotional impact they have on its global user base.
