The European consumer group BEUC has presented a joint complaint against several social media giants that allegedly host misleading crypto ads, together with nine of its members. The complaint was filed to the European Commission, the governing body of the European Union (EU), and consumer authorities. The platforms in the complaint include Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter. - In the complaint, BEUC said the misleading crypto ads on social media platforms are an unfair commercial practice since they put customers at risk of serious harm, such as substantial financial loss.
- The filing pointed out that these promotions are spreading through advertisements and influencers.
- The group urged the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network to mandate the social media platforms to establish tougher ad policies on crypto, take actions to prevent influencers from deceiving users, and inform the European Commission about the effectiveness of these measures.
- Also, the region's consumer authorities were urged to ensure that social media platforms adjust their ad policies to stop the misleading marketing of cryptocurrencies, working with other related European authorities.
- The complaint was signed by consumer groups in Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain.
Earlier in June, the EU officially signed its most comprehensive, region-wide crypto regulations, the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), into law, after three years of development. - BEUC Director General Monique Goyens stated that the MiCA does not include a provision to prevent social platforms from benefiting from the crypto ads at the expense of consumers.
- BEUC is based in Belgium and gathers 45 European consumer organizations from 32 countries as an umbrella group.
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