Poland builds EU coalition against Meta scam ads as Instrat estimates 760 million PLN illicit revenue

Parliamentary debate and Instrat findings

On 17 September 2026, the Polish Sejm Committee on Digital Affairs, Innovation and Modern Technologies held a dedicated session on fraudulent social media advertisements and artificial intelligence deepfakes. The Instrat Foundation presented a report titled "Scale of the Problem: Fraudulent Ads on Meta's Platforms", prepared by foundation president Michał Hetmański and Dr. Jarosław Kopeć. The research calculated that Meta Platforms generated approximately 760 million PLN annually from fraudulent advertising in Poland, accounting for roughly 37% of the Polish Facebook entity's total 2025 revenues of over 2 billion PLN. The report also estimated that fraudulent promotions constituted 10.8% of all advertising reach across Meta services in the country. Hetmański stated that the figures were constrained by data access limitations imposed by the tech company.

We regret that there are no representatives of Meta in the room, who should enter into dialogue.

European coalition and regulatory enforcement

Poland is assembling an alliance of European Union member states to confront illegal advertising practices on Meta platforms. In late August 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski petitioned Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen to levy a 250 million euro (over 1 billion PLN) fine against Meta for systemic violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Deputy Minister Dariusz Standerski announced that Denmark and Finland answered Warsaw's appeal by submitting supporting evidence to the European Commission, while discussions continue with counterparts in France and Germany. Standerski pointed out that the Instrat findings surpassed previous Reuters reports indicating that 10% of Meta's 2024 global revenues derived from scam ads and prohibited goods. The Ministry of Digital Affairs is also preparing domestic statutory mechanisms with the Ministry of Justice, following Polish President Karol Nawrocki's veto of legislation implementing the DSA.

We expect only one thing from every digital platform: compliance with national law and European Union law.

Corporate absence and public testimonies

Meta Platforms did not send representatives to the parliamentary committee, labelling the Instrat Foundation report as fiction. In an interview with Rzeczpospolita, Meta Global Head of Safety Nathaniel Gleicher stated that the company prioritizes expert panels over parliamentary committee hearings when addressing cybercrime. The corporate response drew sharp criticism from domestic figures targeted by fraudulent campaigns. InPost chief executive Rafał Brzoska, who has led public challenges against Meta over the misuse of his likeness alongside cases like Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest, accused the company of evading accountability. A recent German court ruling established that Meta can bear liability for third-party scam ads infringing on personal likenesses or commercial brands. Public figure Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan testified before lawmakers about the escalation of synthetic fraud, detailing how initial 2023 photo theft progressed by 2026 into AI-generated videos imitating her voice and likeness.

As a citizen, I wanted to look company representatives in the eye and ask when they will stop turning a blind eye to fraudulent advertisements.