Warsaw: Poland's digital affairs minister urged the European Commission to impose a $291-million fine on Meta for fraudulent advertisements and harmful content targeting Polish users. Krzysztof Gawkowski made the call on social media platform X, demanding immediate action from Meta to address scams, false advertising, and illegal applications promotion.

According to Anadolu Agency, Gawkowski also shared a letter addressed to Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission's executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy. The letter highlighted the significant issue with advertising operations on Meta, one of the largest platforms in the European single market. Despite repeated reports from Polish authorities and cybersecurity teams, Meta has allegedly failed to take effective action against the problems.

This appeal comes amid renewed concerns over deepfake content, following the circulation of an AI-generated video impersonating Polish President Karol Nawrocki, promoting a fraudulent investment scheme on Facebook. Additionally, Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska criticized the unauthorized use of his image in fraudulent ads on Meta platforms.

Meta acknowledged the complexity of combating fraudulent advertising, emphasizing the need for cooperation among platforms, governments, and law enforcement. The company stated it removed around 137,000 ads originating in Poland between July 2025 and June 2026 for policy violations, with over 88% taken down before user reports. However, Gawkowski argued that Meta had not demonstrated convincing measures to protect users.