FCA: Google should take responsibility for unfair FX / Crypto ads

Ideas of scammers who try (sometimes successfully) to extort money on the basis of alleged offers from Forex market, stocks or cryptocurrencies, they always rely on intense internet marketing. British Financial Conduct Authority The (FCA) wants to sell these ads, which is mainly Google, have taken at least some responsibility for their content. And if they don't, the FCA will require that all advertising related to the financial market be approved.

FCA has just published a report which addresses a number of problems faced by the financial market. One of the balls at his feet is the trust in him on the part of individual investors, which is regularly weakened by the so-called scams - projects aimed at extorting money. It is not always a classic fraud or theft, sometimes it is just a very risky investment that for most investors - even those slightly more experienced - ends up in the same way, i.e. account reset.

Be sure to read: How to recover funds from a dishonest Forex broker

Why is this happening? He is guilty, among others very aggressive and mass marketing. Such projects spare no money on advertising in which they promise golden mountains with minimal effort. Famous personalities from the world of business, sports or the mass media often appear in advertisements, sometimes without even having a clue that their image was used in this way.

FCA: Ads only with our approval

Now, however, this is about to change. Currently, the ad content only has to be approved by the publishing company. The vast majority of it is Google, which has the lion's share of the market. FCA, on the other hand, wants to increase its competences and approve advertisements appearing on the British market. Before that, however, consent to such changes must be expressed by the UK government.

The fight is primarily for the advertising of companies that operate outside the FCA regulations by advertising and selling their offers in the British Isles. They operate, among others via social media, their ads also show up on the top of the page when you use search engines. According to the FCA, they are not only incomplete, but often also outright misleading, which ends up exposing customers to financial losses and, sometimes, loss of data and passwords that can be used for crimes committed using their identity.

"Google must do better"

The regulations are one thing, but the regulator also points out that the fight against misleading advertisements can be started now, directly saying that, for example, Google should take at least some responsibility for dangerous advertisements.

Now cooperation in this area is very difficult. The regulations regarding the removal of advertisements are unambiguous. A regulator who wants to remove an advertisement, which in his opinion is an extortion attempt, misleads customers or simply exposes them to large losses, must make an official request to the online platform. In practice, however, the contact path is difficult and it takes a long time. Before the platform receives the message, its employee will think what to do and, in the best case, react, some people have already managed to trick and pay money to the suspicious company. And such a financial operation is usually a one-way ticket and no return.

What's more, even if the ad is removed, the dishonest advertiser usually has the content and materials ready to launch the next one - only slightly modified, but also causing damage to individual investors, but also to the entire financial market. According to the FCA, in this case you do not need new regulations, but Google's goodwill, which - as we can read between the lines - is often missing. Therefore, the regulator calls on the company to take more responsibility, and at the same time aims to change the regulations that will allow it to accept advertisements of financial institutions.