If you run a small business in Ireland, you have almost certainly been targeted by a scam ad online. Fake business loan offers, cloned supplier websites, and fraudulent social media posts pretending to be from Revenue or your bank are now part of daily life. The platforms hosting these ads have largely shrugged off responsibility. That may be about to change.
Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has announced proposed new rules that would hold Big Tech companies legally accountable for scam advertisements on their platforms. While the rules apply to the UK market, their impact will reach Irish businesses too — because the same platforms (Google, Meta, Twitter/X, TikTok) operate across these islands with the same moderation systems.
What Ofcom Is Proposing
The proposed fraud-fighting rules would make online platforms responsible for verifying advertisers before their ads go live. Currently, anyone can pay to run an ad impersonating a legitimate business. Under the new rules, platforms would need to check that the advertiser is who they say they are, and that the ad does not direct users to fraudulent websites. If they fail to do so, they face fines and enforcement action.
Ofcom estimates that UK consumers lose £3.2 billion per year to online scams, with a significant portion starting from fake ads on trusted platforms. The new powers come from the UK’s Online Safety Act, which gave Ofcom the authority to enforce tougher standards on tech companies. This is not a consultation exercise — the regulator has real teeth and a mandate to use them.
Why This Matters for Irish Businesses
Irish businesses face the same scam ads as their UK counterparts. A landlord in Dublin recently told a local paper they lost €12,000 to a scam ad for a fake insurance provider that appeared at the top of Google Search. A Galway retailer had their supplier details cloned by a fraudster running Facebook ads offering the same products at lower prices. These are not isolated incidents.
The difference is that Irish consumer protection currently relies on existing legislation — the Consumer Protection Act and GDPR enforcement by the DPC — rather than a dedicated online safety framework with real teeth. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) does take action, but it does not have the same platform-focused powers that Ofcom now holds. If the UK moves forward with these rules, it puts significant pressure on EU regulators to follow suit with something equally strong.
What the EU AI Act Adds
The EU AI Act, which began phasing in this year, does not directly address scam advertising. It focuses on risk classification for AI systems themselves. But the two pieces of regulation are heading in the same direction: holding platforms accountable for what their systems enable. An AI algorithm that recommends scam ads to users is, under the EU AI Act’s logic, a high-risk system that should have been tested for harmful outputs.
Irish businesses should understand that the regulatory environment is shifting in their favour. The days of tech companies shrugging and saying “we are just a platform” are numbered, on both sides of the Irish Sea.
What You Can Do Now
Even before regulation catches up, there are practical steps you can take. First, report scam ads every time you see them — on Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Each report builds the evidence base for enforcement. Second, register your business trademarks with the platforms that allow it. Google’s Brand Protection Programme and Meta’s IP reporting system let legitimate businesses flag impersonators more quickly than the general reporting process.
Third, talk to your industry body. ISME, the Vintners’ Federation, and the Irish Farmers’ Association are all aware of scam ads targeting their members. Groups of businesses making the same complaint carry more weight than individual reports. Fourth, warn your customers directly. A short note on your website or in your newsletter saying “we will never ask you to pay via a social media ad” costs nothing and could save someone in your network from being scammed.
Ofcom’s proposals are open for consultation until September 2026. If they succeed, they will set a precedent that reshapes how every platform does business on this side of the Atlantic. For Irish business owners, that is worth watching closely — and worth contributing to.