Asked if it would also apply to New Zealand, a Meta spokeswoman said, “We have not made any announcements regarding NZ at this time.”
The tech giant did not immediately reply to a follow-up question about why the protection was not being extended across the Tasman.
In Australia, Meta is a signatory to the voluntary Online Scams Code but, like all social media platforms, banks and telcos, faces fines of up to A$50 million under new anti-scam framework legislation currently before Australia’s parliament.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly has not committed to such a measure here but recently told the Herald he would discuss the A$50m fines when he met with his Australian counterpart, assistant treasurer and financial services minister Stephen Jones, later this month.
Bayly nudges telcos, social media firms with open letters
Bayly published two open letters on November 29 – one directed at telcos (here) and the other at social media platforms (here).
Bayly urged the players in each sector to work more closely with each other on consumer protections.
He said the banking sector had provided him with a draft voluntary compensation scheme for victims (yet to be made public). He encouraged the telcos and social media firms to do the same.
He also wrote in his letter to the social media firms:
“Earlier this year, major technology companies signed up to the Australian Online Scams Code that set out industry-led commitments to fight scams. Many of these same technology companies also have a large presence in New Zealand. I would like to see this code extended to digital platforms operating in New Zealand ... by mid-2025,” Bayly wrote.
$50m stick required on this side of the Tasman, too
Consumer head of research and advocacy Jessica Walker told the Herald beyond the voluntary code, the stick of anti-scam legislation was also required.
“Telcos and digital platforms are key facilitators for scamming activity. It’s our view that financial penalties are necessary for these sectors to take meaningful action. We need to look to Australia and its scam prevention framework, where companies would face fines of up to A$50m for failing to prevent scams.”
In Australia, Meta has also faced court action from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which alleges it has profited from scam ads and failed to police its own policies. Meta denies the claims.
Losses in the billions
In his latest open letters, Bayly noted that while Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment research – drawing on data supplied directly by the major banks – found annual losses to scams involving banks at $200m, Netsafe research indicated overall losses, including social media and text scams, were $2.3 billion.
Meta has repeatedly declined to answer Herald questions about what happens to the money it earns from ads booked by scammers, who have imitated Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Clarke Gayford, various Newstalk ZB hosts and many others over the past year.
In February, Bayly penned an open letter to banks encouraging them to accelerate work on confirmation-of-payee, or matching account names and numbers when funds are transferred between banks. The major banks began introducing the measure at the end of November.
His February letter also pushed for banks to introduce the voluntary compensation scheme now in draft.
Pow-wow soon
Bayly – recently named the lead minister in change of anti-scam measures – has also called the heads of NZ’s telcos, banks, social media platforms and various Government agencies to a meeting on December 6.
He has ruled out an anti-scam centre like Australia’s, but wants real-time sharing of threat information between the various public and private players fighting scams in NZ.
Bayly also wants to develop a regional anti-scam alliance between Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
Telcos: Haven’t seen banks’ draft compo scheme
“We have yet to see the detail of the bank’s compensation scheme so I can’t comment on that. It’s a very complex area and it’s a bit like asking NZTA to be responsible for all the cars being driven on the road. We will have to see what part we play in this area compared with banks, government and of course the digital platforms,” said Paul Brislen, chief executive of the Telecommunications Carriers Forum (TCF), whose members include Spark, 2degrees and One NZ.
“Telcos work constructively with all the government agencies and our colleagues in the banking sector to minimise frauds and scams as much as possible, and will continue to do so.
“We have our own industry-specific codes and a programme of work around scams that has been in place for many years now. We believe the telco sector in New Zealand does far more in this regard than most of our contemporaries to get ahead of the scammers.”
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
