Measures to include restrictions on ‘safe’ social media apps, with some fearing banning some platforms and not others will lead to legal challenges
Teenagers under the age of 16 are to be banned from accessing “high-risk” social media apps while safer platforms will be subjected to restrictions, under a sweeping government crackdown.
A friend is upset because you didn’t “like” a photo from her last trip, but the truth is you haven’t even had a chance to see it. Instead of displaying it on your feed, Instagram prioritized showing you ads for food.
As the start of the World Cup draws near, the United States government has set its sights on foreigninfluencers. Immigration authorities have warned that individuals entering the country on a tourist visa may not use their stay to produce content intended to generate income on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook or other online platforms — a practice that for years has been common among digital creators worldwide.
In September 2021, The Wall Street Journal published the Facebook Files, a series of reports based on internal documents from the tech company that, among other things, showed its executives were aware of the harms Instagram and Facebook were causing young people. It was a bombshell. It triggered the biggest reputational crisis for Mark Zuckerberg’s company, which weeks later rebranded as Meta. The person behind it was engineer Frances Haugen, 42, who left her post at Facebook carrying 21,000 internal documents. The U.S. Senate summoned her to testify, and investigations were opened into her revelations.
Meta has removed a series of scam ads impersonating the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) following HKFP’s enquiries.
Since-removed scam ads impersonating INTERPOL appeared on Meta platforms in recent weeks. Photo: HKFP screenshot.
The ads, targeting Hongkongers, appeared for weeks on Facebook. They urged users to get in touch with the global policing body if they wished to retrieve funds previously lost to scams – however, the ads were fraudulent.
The posts were published by a since-removed fake news outlet page called “Hong Kong Daily,” which falsely claimed to share an office address with HKFP.
Since-removed scam ads impersonating INTERPOL appeared on Meta platforms in recent weeks. Photo: HKFP screenshot.
INTERPOL told HKFP that such ads should be reported to the local police. “To confirm that INTERPOL never contacts members of the public directly, never demands money from people and never asks for bank details or any money transfer,” it said on Thursday. “Any such request or advert is fake. Members of the public should not engage and report any such emails or adverts to the local police.”
In response to HKFP on Friday, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Police Force said they have been “actively engaging relevant authorities to verify and remove suspicious or fraudulent websites. In the process of removing such websites, cooperation with concerned parties, including various service providers, is essential. The Hong Kong Police Force is committed to safeguarding the interests of the public by working with these service providers to suppress fraudulent messages.”
The police force is part of the INTERPOL Member State of China.
Meta’s US$3.5 bn profits from scams – report
Last year, Meta banned over 3.7 million items of ad content in Hong Kong and 134 million instances globally. Also in 2025, the tech giant took down 10.9 million accounts associated with scam centres. The company owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
A spokesperson for Meta told HKFP on Friday that ads which impersonate organisations or seek to defraud people go against its policies.
“The flagged Facebook Page and associated ads have been removed for violating our policies,” the spokesperson said. “Fighting scams on our platforms is one of our top priorities and as scammers have grown in sophistication in recent years, so have our efforts. We use AI-powered detection technology to identify and remove scam ads at scale, and we also encourage anyone who encounters suspicious ads to report them through our in-app tools.”
File photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP.
Nevertheless, according to a report by Reuters news agency, Meta earns US$3.5 billion (HK$27.4 billion) from just a portion of scam ads every six months.
Citing internal Meta documents, Reuters said that the social media company projected that 10 per cent of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, amounting to US$16 billion (HK$124.8 billion).
Other fraudulent ads, appearing to target scam victims, remained online as of Monday, according to HKFP’s checks.
A fraudulent Meta ad running on Facebook, as of May 11, 2026. Screenshot: HKFP.
One ad targeting Hongkongers, published by a page called “Law Help,” urged those “affected by online fraud or an unregulated broker” to submit their details.
Scammers have been posing as law enforcement officers to defraud victims.
In March, Nikkei Asia reported that mock police stations and banks had been set up at scam centres, used to fool victims interacting via video call.
Big tech firms have been responding to the UK’s “world leading” social media ban and unsurprisingly they are not impressed. The UK unveiled legislation earlier today that will see 10 social media platforms including X, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat completely banned for under-16s. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK is taking “world leading […]
Meta's social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, are experiencing widespread issues today, with users reporting login failures, unexpected account logouts, and problems accessing both websites and mobile apps. The Meta Business Suite is also down as of the time of writing.
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