The world’s largest technology companies have signed an agreement pledging to protect the public from online fraud, the UK Home Office said on Thursday.
It announced in a statement that the 12 technology platforms which have agreed to a series of pledges aimed at tackling online fraud are Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB)'s Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)'s Google, LinkedIn, Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Snapchat, TikTok Global, X, and YouTube.
The tech companies have signed the Online Fraud Charter, a voluntary agreement between the government and the technology sector to reduce fraud on their platforms and services.
As part of the agreement, the government said the tech companies have “committed to bring in a raft of measures to help protect people from fraud and scam content when using their sites”.
Under the new set of voluntary agreements, they will need to verify new advertisers and promptly remove any fraudulent content.
Tech companies have also agreed to increase verification on peer-to-peer marketplaces, and online dating services.
The government said there will be a crackdown on illegal adverts and ads for age-restricted products, such as alcohol or gambling.
The Online Advertising Taskforce is expected to publish an action plan today that will set out steps that the industry and government can take to prevent harm associated with internet use, especially for young users.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with online scammers targeting the most vulnerable in society.
“We have already taken action to go after these unscrupulous criminals, launching our Fraud Strategy and deploying a National Fraud Squad made up of 400 dedicated officers, all backed by £400 million.
“By joining forces with these tech giants we will continue to crack down on fraudsters, making sure they have nowhere to hide online.”