Internal documents reveal that Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, knowingly allowed high levels of fraudulent advertising from Chinese companies, prioritising revenue over user protection. The revelations highlight deep vulnerabilities in the company’s oversight of global ad operations.
Despite China banning domestic access to Meta platforms and ensuing a multi-national crackdown on illegal gambling ops, a report claims that Chinese firms are permitted to advertise to consumers abroad. This has become a lucrative source of revenue for Meta, generating over $18 billion in 2024, around 11 percent of the company’s total global income.
Internal assessments indicate that over a fifth of this amount, exceeding $3 billion, was associated with scams, illegal gambling, and other prohibited content. The documents, created by Meta’s finance, engineering, lobbying, and safety teams over the last four years, reveal the company’s awareness of the extent of abuse, according to Reuters.
Anti-China firm stopped abruptly?
Staff warned in April 2024 that significant investment was required to curb the rising harm, and the firm established a China-focused anti-fraud team to monitor and block malicious ads. This initiative initially reduced scam advertising by half in the second half of 2024, from 19 percent to 9 percent of total Chinese ad revenue.
However, internal documents indicate that Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg intervened, prompting the disbanding of the anti-scam team and a pause on several other planned measures. The company also lifted a freeze on granting new Chinese ad agencies access to its platforms.
The result was a rapid resurgence of fraudulent ads. By mid-2025, scam-linked advertising accounted for roughly 16 percent of Meta’s revenue from China. An internal review found that lower-tier Chinese agencies, recruited by top-tier resellers, often ignored platform rules. Some advertised their ability to shield clients from enforcement, using artificial intelligence to create fake documents or obscure identities.
External experts have criticised Meta’s handling of the issue. A consultancy hired by Meta, Propellerfish, warned that the company’s own policies were fostering systemic fraud, allowing scams to thrive with minimal risk to perpetrators.
Revenue streams criticised
The structure of China’s ad ecosystem further complicates enforcement. Meta’s top-tier resellers recruit lower-level agencies to manage ad purchases, creating a complex network that reduces oversight. Delays in human review and a “whitelisting” system allowed fraudulent ads to run long enough to achieve wide exposure
The impact on users has been significant. In March 2025, US authorities seized $214 million linked to a Chinese stock scam advertised via Facebook and Instagram. Investigations revealed that users were lured into WhatsApp groups controlled by individuals posing as investment advisors.
Meta maintains that automated systems have removed millions of ads from Chinese partners over the past 18 months and that it enforces policies against misbehaving agencies. A spokesperson said that efforts to combat fraud are ongoing and focus on the highest-risk harms globally. Yet, the company now faces scrutiny from regulators over the claims that 10 percent of its 2024 revenue came from scam or banned advertising.
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