Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with social media platforms on fraud carried out on their platforms.

The Government takes the issue of authorised push payment (APP) fraud very seriously. That is why the Government has introduced legislation as part of the Financial Services & Markets Bill to enable the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to require payment service providers (including banks) to reimburse APP scam victims, and placed a duty on the PSR to act in relation to the Faster Payments system (over which vast majority of APP scams currently occur) within 6 months of the legislation coming into force. This will ensure more consistent and comprehensive reimbursement for APP scam victims. The Payment Systems Regulator is responsible for the design of the reimbursement requirement, and published a Cost Benefit Analysis alongside its most recent consultation on its approach to APP scam reimbursement, published September 2022.

The Government recognises that many sectors have a role to play in preventing fraud, and that some scams originate via social media platforms. By including the fraudulent advertising duty in the Online Safety Bill, the Government is introducing new obligations on online platforms to establish systems and process that prevent users encountering fraudulent content on their sites. If platforms do not comply with this, they could face fines of up to £18 million or 10% of their annual turnover, whichever is higher.

The Home Office will publish the Government’s broader Fraud Strategy shortly. The Strategy will set out the Government’s comprehensive efforts to combat fraud, prosecute criminals, and protect customers.

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel