(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google on Wednesday announced measures to clamp down on financial fraud on its platform in Britain, saying it will require all financial services to be verified by the regulator before they are allowed to advertise.
Google said in a blog post it will begin enforcing the new policy, which follows calls from the Financial Conduct Authority for the U.S. tech giant to vet paid promotions, from Sept. 6.
The FCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The watchdog issued 1,200 consumer warnings last year about scams advertised via social media platforms by fake companies, double the amount in 2019.
FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi said last year Google should make checks with regulators to see whether potential advertisers had already been shut down in some other guise, before promotions are posted online.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has also been lobbying the government to introduce a legal requirement for internet giants to take down financial fraud websites, according to a March report in the Sunday Times.
(Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru; editing by Jane Wardell)
