TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs is set to impose penalties on Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for repeatedly failing to enforce real-name verification for online advertisements, Minister Huang Yen-nan (黃彥男) said Wednesday.
The decision follows a recent meeting between the ministry and law enforcement agencies. Huang said the penalties will be publicly disclosed soon, according to Storm Media.
A 2024 report by CommonWealth Magazine said victims in Taiwan lose about NT$400 million (US$13 million) to scams each day, with 70% of those losses linked to Facebook.
The magazine also reported that Facebook has topped the list of scam-related platforms for two consecutive years. More than 60% of respondents said they encountered fraudulent content on the site.
Between April 2023 and September 2024, nearly 59,000 scam ads were recorded on Facebook and Google platforms. These include a case involving a Chiayi County Facebook group with more than 410,000 members, per PTS.
The group was eventually taken down after being inundated with fake job postings. According to the group’s administrator, dozens, and sometimes more than 100, scam ads appeared daily, making the group nearly impossible to manage.
In his interview with CommonWealth, Huang described Meta as the “more problematic platform.” He added that 60% to 70% of financial scams originate from Facebook ads.
Deputy Interior Minister Ma Shi-yuan (馬士元), who also heads the Cabinet’s anti-fraud task force, said on May 15 that police have already referred 15 cases to the digital ministry for administrative action.
Huang said only two cases have resulted in fines because the platforms generally complied with takedown orders and real-name rules. The only exceptions were the two instances on Facebook where advertiser information was incomplete.
Legislator Hung Mung-kai (洪孟楷) questioned the slow response. Hung noted that new anti-fraud laws took effect in February, but police did not begin transferring cases to the digital ministry until May, and fines will take almost a month to be issued.
In response, Huang said the government has maintained communication with Facebook and other platforms. Relevant systems are already in place.
Under current regulations, platforms are required to remove reported scam ads within 24 hours, a rule that has generally been followed, according to Huang. In addition to police efforts, the digital ministry has deployed AI tools to detect and flag suspicious ads, which have helped eliminate about 100,000 fraudulent entries in recent months.
Government officials are now arranging in-person meetings with Meta executives to demand stronger enforcement and cooperation.
Ma urged platforms like Facebook and Line to strengthen self-regulation and ad screening, acknowledging that law enforcement alone cannot monitor the immense volume of online content.
