Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen has confirmed that evidence submitted by the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and national consumer groups showing systemic failures by Meta, TikTok and Google to remove financial scam advertisements will feed into ongoing Digital Services Act (DSA) enforcement, including formal proceedings against Meta. In a written answer to a parliamentary question from 28 MEPs led by Adnan Dibrani (S&D), Virkkunen also pledged that the Commission's long-awaited action plan against digital fraud will be presented in autumn 2026, proposing measures to improve prevention, investigations and victim protection.
The answer, published on 28 July 2026, responds to a question co-signed by 28 MEPs from S&D, PPE, Renew, The Left and Verts/ALE groups. The MEPs had cited a BEUC-coordinated cross-border investigation covering 13 countries that found nearly 900 suspected scam advertisements reported between December 2025 and March 2026, of which only 27% were removed. The question asked how the Commission assesses the evidence, what enforcement measures it is prepared to take, and when it will present its action plan against online fraud.
Virkkunen's reply contains few concrete new commitments beyond the autumn 2026 timeline for the action plan. It largely restates existing enforcement steps: the 2025 requests for information sent to Apple App Store, Bing, Booking.com, Google Play and Google Search on scam and fraud risks; the dedicated workstream on online scams within the European Board for Digital Services; the 2025 non-compliance decision and fine against X for transparency breaches; and commitments obtained from TikTok and AliExpress regarding their advertisement repositories. The answer also references the proposed Payment Services Regulation as a complementary measure for financial services advertisements.
The policy orientation is one of incremental enforcement under the DSA rather than immediate new obligations. The Commission signals it will continue to use existing DSA tools — formal proceedings, information requests, fines — while preparing a broader legislative and non-legislative package for autumn 2026. Stakeholders most affected include the three platforms named (Meta, TikTok, Google), which face continued regulatory scrutiny and potential fines; EU consumers, who remain exposed to fraudulent ads in the interim; national consumer authorities, who are coordinating enforcement through the Board for Digital Services; and the wider online advertising industry, which may face tighter rules once the action plan is unveiled.
Institutional follow-up is expected in autumn 2026 with the presentation of the digital fraud action plan. In the meantime, the Commission will continue analysing responses to its 2025 information requests and may take further enforcement decisions against individual platforms. The answer does not set a deadline for concluding the Meta proceedings or for acting on the BEUC evidence beyond using it to support ongoing supervision.