Americans overwhelmingly support congressional efforts to crack down on fraudulent ads on social media platforms and hold online companies accountable for preventing scams, according to a new national survey of registered voters conducted by Fabrizio Ward on behalf of the American Bankers Association.
The Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct Act (SCAM Act), introduced in both the House and Senate earlier this year, would require social media companies to take responsible steps to remove fraudulent advertising from their platforms, which would help stop countless scams before they start. The survey found broad support for the legislation, with Americans backing stronger protections against online financial fraud.
According to the survey, 87% of voters agree that online financial fraud is on the rise, while nearly three in four are concerned that they or a family member could become a victim of online financial fraud. Nine in 10 voters agree that social media companies should verify the identities of advertisers on their platforms to help prevent fraud.
“Americans are sending a powerful and unmistakable message: social media companies must do more to stop scammers from exploiting their platforms,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “Consumers, families and businesses are paying the price when fraudulent ads are allowed to spread online. Voters overwhelmingly support common-sense measures like the SCAM Act that would require social media platforms to verify advertisers, remove scam ads quickly and take meaningful steps to prevent fraud before it occurs.”
The survey found overwhelming support for key provisions of the SCAM Act, including:
- 96% support requiring social media platforms to take down fraudulent ads quickly once they are reported.
- 95% support requiring platforms to put systems in place to detect and prevent scams before they reach consumers.
- 94% support requiring platforms to verify advertisers are legitimate before allowing ads to run.
- 93% support holding platforms financially accountable if they profit from fraudulent ads and fail to act.
- 92% support allowing consumers and the government to penalize companies that permit fraud and scams to spread on their platforms.
Overall, 92% of voters support the proposed legislation after learning about its provisions. The survey also found that 75% of voters would be more likely to support a congressional candidate who backed the legislation, while only 5% would be less likely to do so.
When presented with competing arguments, voters sided overwhelmingly with supporters of the proposal by a margin of 82% to 8%, rejecting the argument that social media companies can voluntarily police fraudulent advertisers without government involvement.
