Meta hit with second fine in Taiwan over Facebook ad transparency issues

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, has been fined NT$15 million (US$512,864) by Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) for failing to disclose key information about advertisers on its Facebook platform. It marks the second penalty this year for the social media giant.

 

The fine follows an earlier NT$1 million (US$34,200) penalty issued in May, for breaking Taiwan’s Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act, which requires online platforms to clearly show who is paying for adverts.

 

The latest fine came after the Ministry of the Interior reported 23 cases where Facebook did not fully disclose advertiser information. MODA said Meta had a “major systematic oversight” in managing ads, which delayed the timely disclosure of sponsors, a critical step in combating fraudulent and misleading ads.

 

“We found that Facebook demonstrated a major systematic oversight in its advertisement management, causing it to be unable to disclose the identities of sponsors and funding parties in a timely manner upon publication and broadcast... Meta is fined NT$15 million and ordered to rectify the situation in 30 days,” the digital ministry told Taipei Times, adding that it would impose consecutive penalties if the company does not address the issue by the deadline.

 

Meta responded by saying it is committed to being more transparent and keeping its platform safe. Since 2024, Meta has improved its process for verifying advertisers on Facebook and Instagram. It has removed over 146,000 ad accounts and 1.6 million scam ads in Taiwan. Meta also promised to keep working with Taiwan’s authorities, including MODA and the Criminal Investigation Bureau, to follow the rules and fight fraud.

 

Facebook has been a major source of fake and scam ads in Taiwan, accounting for 60% to 70% of all financial scams linked to online ads in the country. A survey by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance found that over 60% of Taiwanese users reported encountering fraudulent content on Facebook, making it the leading platform for scam exposure for two consecutive years. Taiwanese victims lose an estimated NT$400 million (US$13 million) daily to scams, with the vast majority traced back to Facebook ads.