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On 21 May 2026, BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation – together with 29 members from 27 countries – filed complaints with the European Commission and competent national authorities against Meta, TikTok and Google for failing to address the proliferation of financial fraudulent ads on their platforms as the EU’s Digital Services Act requires from them.
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Consumers spend more time online and increasingly rely on digital payment services in their daily lives. As their digital presence grows, so do fraudulent practices, with online advertising emerging as a major vector for scams. Whether watching videos, following friends, scrolling or reading the news, consumers are routinely exposed to increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes, leading not only to financial harm – i.e. in 2024, consumers suffered financial losses up to EUR 4.2 billion – but also to a loss of trust in digital and financial markets.
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BEUC – The European Consumer Organisation, wrote to the European Commission to inform that, together
with 29 consumer organisations from 27 countries, we are filing complaints against Meta, TikTok, and Google with the European Commission and the competent Digital Services Coordinators, pursuant to Article 53 of EU Regulation 2022/2065 (the Digital Services Act- DSA).
with 29 consumer organisations from 27 countries, we are filing complaints against Meta, TikTok, and Google with the European Commission and the competent Digital Services Coordinators, pursuant to Article 53 of EU Regulation 2022/2065 (the Digital Services Act- DSA).
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BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, together with 13 consumer groups from 13 countries (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the Netherlands), conducted an evidence-gathering to document the widespread financial scams on Meta, TikTok and Google as well as the limited corrective measures platforms take to prevent their circulation. The screenshots were taken between December 2025 and March 2026. Consumer groups collected 893 examples.
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BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, together with 13 consumer groups from 13 countries (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the Netherlands), conducted an evidence-gathering to document the widespread financial scams on Meta, TikTok and Google as well as the limited corrective measures platforms take to prevent their circulation. The screenshots were taken between December 2025 and March 2026. Consumer groups collected 893 examples. This annex does not intend to provide the exhaustive list of ads, but highlights key examples collected per organisation.
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Evidence from posts of social media influencers gathered by consumer groups around Europe confirms widespread hidden advertising and appeal to emotions to shape consumers’ preferences and behaviour, in particular among the youngest ones. The European Consumer Organisation BEUC and its members call on the EU to urgently rein in influencer marketing by updating EU law. The EU must prevent influencers from promoting unhealthy foods to protect the health of young generations. This is particularly worrying at a time when one in three children in Europe live with overweight or obesity.
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Influencer marketing is everywhere and unavoidable for anyone on social media due to the high volume of content and boundless creativity of social media influencers. Between March and September 2025, 14 BEUC consumer organisations from 12 countries monitored about 650 posts and videos of social media influencers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
Although influencer marketing is present in nearly all sectors, this evidence-gathering focused on posts and videos promoting unhealthy food advertising and fast fashion as they are sectors where consumers are likely to be particularly at risks. Evidence confirms the widespread use of hidden advertising practices and how influencers appeal to emotions to shape consumers’ preferences. It also shows how brands use influencer marketing to give a positive spin to their reputation in the eyes of consumers, in particular the youngest ones.
As we identified in 2023, current EU law is only partially able to tackle the problems posed by influencer marketing and needs to be updated.1 It must clarify the responsibilities of the different actors operating in the influencer marketing environment - from influencers and their agencies to brands and online platforms. This report provides additional evidence supporting ongoing policy discussions at EU and national level. This is particularly the case for the EU Digital Fairness Act and the evaluation of the Audiovisual Services Media Directive, both expected in 2026.
Although influencer marketing is present in nearly all sectors, this evidence-gathering focused on posts and videos promoting unhealthy food advertising and fast fashion as they are sectors where consumers are likely to be particularly at risks. Evidence confirms the widespread use of hidden advertising practices and how influencers appeal to emotions to shape consumers’ preferences. It also shows how brands use influencer marketing to give a positive spin to their reputation in the eyes of consumers, in particular the youngest ones.
As we identified in 2023, current EU law is only partially able to tackle the problems posed by influencer marketing and needs to be updated.1 It must clarify the responsibilities of the different actors operating in the influencer marketing environment - from influencers and their agencies to brands and online platforms. This report provides additional evidence supporting ongoing policy discussions at EU and national level. This is particularly the case for the EU Digital Fairness Act and the evaluation of the Audiovisual Services Media Directive, both expected in 2026.