Overview
- Internal projections reported by Reuters say Meta expected about 10% of its 2024 revenue—roughly $16 billion—to come from ads tied to scams and prohibited goods.
- A December 2024 file estimated users saw about 15 billion higher‑risk scam ads each day, with about $7 billion in annualized revenue from that cohort.
- Policies detailed in the documents include banning advertisers only at a 95% fraud‑certainty threshold, using auction “penalty bids,” and applying revenue guardrails that limited actions likely to cut more than 0.15% of company sales.
- Some repeat offenders were allowed to keep buying ads for extended periods, with smaller fraud accounts needing multiple flags and certain high‑spending accounts reportedly accruing hundreds of strikes before removal.
- Meta disputes the framing as selective and calls the 10% estimate rough, citing a 58% drop in global scam‑ad user reports and more than 134 million removals in 2025, as U.S. and UK regulators scrutinize the company with potential fines reported up to about $1 billion.