European Union’s consumer group BEUC targeted cryptocurrency ads on social media in its latest complaint to the European Commission and consumer authorities. The BEUC was joined by consumer groups from eight European nations in its campaign against major social media platforms for promoting crypto products.
BEUC took to Twitter earlier today to announce its efforts to curb crypto ads on social media platforms:
Today BEUC & consumer groups in 8 countries are taking action against TikTok, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube for facilitating the misleading promotion of crypto assets on social media 🪙. We've filed a complaint with @EU_Commission and consumer authorities: https://t.co/b6NYsBl4VM pic.twitter.com/w5iLMy4h1i
— The Consumer Voice (@beuc) June 8, 2023
BEUC is an umbrella group for 46 independent consumer organizations from 32 European countries that represent the interest of consumers. According to a press release from the consumer group earlier today, a complaint was filed against Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter for facilitating the misleading promotion of crypto assets.
BEUC and consumer groups from Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain accused the social media companies of allowing misleading advertisements of crypto products on their platforms. The consumer groups were of the opinion that the ads have been an unfair commercial practice that exposed consumers to significant harm and risk.
The consumer groups cited crypto’s high volatility and speculative nature while describing it as a highly risky investment product that wasn’t suitable for all consumers. BEUC highlighted that “crypto is not backed by tangible assets and is mainly based on speculation, making it highly volatile”. The consumer group also noted the scams and risks associated with crypto products.
BEUC cited the European Union’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive to get social media platforms to exercise more caution while allowing such ads. The consumer organization also published a 20-page report titled ‘Hype or harm? The great social media crypto con’, which provided evidence of the misleading crypto ads on social media.
The report highlighted Twitter owner Elon Musk’s frequent tweets related to crypto tokens, including Dogecoin. According to BEUC, Musk’s endorsement of DOGE created a positive perception of crypto among users which prevented them from understanding the risks associated with it.
