Social Media Must Refund You: What to Do If Scammed by a Hacker!

The European Union is stepping up its efforts to regulate social media, this time targeting the persistent issue of online scams. New legislation will hold platforms accountable by requiring them to compensate victims of fraud disseminated through their services.

Social media platforms provide an ideal environment for scammers looking for a quick and effective way to spread their deceitful schemes. With their vast user bases, scammers are confident of finding victims, who are often not well-informed about safe online practices. Meanwhile, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have not been particularly proactive in addressing this trend. This is largely because they financially benefit from allowing these scams to proliferate.

Indeed, many scammers willingly pay for sponsored posts to ensure their schemes reach a wide audience, thereby boosting the coffers of these social networks. However, this might soon change—and unusually, it is thanks to the European Union and its DMA. Just days after announcing that the irritating cookie consent pop-ups could soon be a thing of the past, the European Parliament has now come forward with more good news. Soon, the responsibility to compensate victims of scams will fall upon the social networks themselves.

Related Topic – Beware of this Booking scam, it could cost you twice as much for your hotel room!

Europe to Mandate Social Networks to Compensate Scam Victims

Indeed, the 27 member countries have agreed to implement two new protective measures for internet users in the event of scams. Firstly, victims will be reimbursed by their banks if the scammer impersonated the bank or if their credit card was hacked. Secondly, social networks will be required to pay the due amount if the bank can demonstrate that the scam had been previously reported but not removed by the platform.

According to Danish MEP Morten Løkkegaard, “This is a significant victory. A very, very big step forward. We come from a situation where platforms were not held accountable under any law,” he recalls. For consumers, these new measures will undoubtedly provide greater security by involving the platforms directly in the protection process. For the platforms, however, one can imagine that after years of minimal regulation, their patience may be wearing thin.

Source: Politico