A LEADING anti-fraud firm based in Spain is demanding action against global tech giants for allowing the spread of online scams.
AnyTech365 believes giants such as Meta – which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram – should be ‘held financially responsible’ for fraud carried out on their platforms.
As the global cost of fraud soars, AnyTech365 COO Georgi Medzhidiliev, based in Malaga, insists social media platforms are simply not doing enough to tackle the problem.
“There has to be decisive action against the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.
“So many people are being defrauded via scams on their sites: crypto scams, Sephora scams, fake charity campaigns, the list goes on,” he said after attending the annual GASA anti-fraud conference in Lisbon.
“There has to be a real change and the authorities should hold those platforms accountable, since this is where the majority of scams start.
“There has to be something that moves the needle, because talking about it is simply not enough.”
The cybersecurity executive said tech giants should at least be required to demonstrate that their anti-fraud measures are producing ‘tangible results’.
Attending the GASA conference alongside international firms including Amazon, OpenAI and Mastercard, as well as global law enforcement agencies, he said solutions were ‘not impossible’ – but legislation would be needed.
Medzhidiliev also criticised the way major US tech firms have historically relied on legislation such as Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act as a ‘shield’ against liability.
The law generally protects online platforms from being held responsible for content posted by their users.
“They often treat it as someone else’s problem, and their legal teams lean heavily on this protection,” he said. “Companies like Meta, X and YouTube have relied on this defense. That makes real accountability very difficult to achieve.”
He also pointed to the current US administration’s reluctance to pursue tougher platform-accountability legislation, suggesting that protecting the enormous revenues generated by American technology giants plays a role.
He noted that when foreign governments have moved to tax or regulate US tech firms, the response from Washington has often been the threat of tariffs.
“Meanwhile, people are losing their life savings to fraud, and in some documented cases, taking their own lives over losses of $50,000 or $100,000,” he said.
“That could be a family’s school fees, or someone’s retirement. I find that very hard to accept. These companies need to be held to a much higher standard, and real resources need to be committed to making that happen.”
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