Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on the number of fraudulent or scam adverts on social media websites targeted at UK consumers in each year since 2020.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold data relating to the number of fraudulent or scam adverts on social media or other regulated services.

There are mechanisms in the Online Safety Act that allow Ofcom to collect information from categorised services on the incidence and dissemination of illegal content, which would include fraudulent advertising content. Ofcom is required under the Act to publish annual transparency reports.