FTC opens inquiry into whether platforms' ad-optimization tools help scam impersonation

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday opened a rulemaking inquiry into whether it should update its impersonation rule — or take other action — to address how digital platforms’ ad-optimization tools may help scam ads reach consumers.

The move marks a notable expansion in the agency’s focus. Rather than looking only at the scammers creating fake ads, the FTC is now explicitly examining whether advertising systems run by social media companies, search engines and other digital marketplace platforms may be helping fraudsters impersonate legitimate businesses and government agencies online.

The FTC said it submitted an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or ANPRM, for publication in the Federal Register and posted it on its website Thursday. An ANPRM is an early-stage request for public input, not a final rule. In this case, the agency is asking whether platform ad tools and services are helping scammers place and optimize deceptive ads that mimic trusted institutions.

In announcing the inquiry, Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said impersonation scams are now “sophisticated, highly engineered operations powered by the same advertising and targeting tools that platforms sell to legitimate businesses.”

The FTC said the inquiry comes as impersonation scams remain the top category of fraud complaints. Consumers filed more than 1 million imposter-scam reports in 2025 and reported nearly $3.5 billion in losses, according to the agency. Nearly 30% of consumers who said they lost money to scammers in 2025 reported that the initial contact happened on social media, with reported losses totaling $2.1 billion.

The agency is seeking comment on several questions tied to the role of platform advertising systems. Those include the financial incentives for platforms to offer ad-optimization tools and services, how those tools optimize ad content and delivery, what steps platforms currently take to prevent deceptive advertising, and whether those practices may amount to unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the FTC Act.

The commission is also asking whether it should amend its existing impersonation rule, write a separate rule aimed at platform conduct, or rely on nonregulatory measures.

If the FTC decides to pursue regulation, it said possible measures could include requiring platforms to vet advertisers, monitor posted ads, investigate suspected impersonation-scam ads, remove confirmed scam ads and discipline advertisers that violate the rules.

The inquiry builds on an enforcement framework the FTC put in place in 2024. The agency finalized its Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses in March of that year, making it an unfair or deceptive practice to impersonate government agencies or businesses. The FTC said it has already used that rule in about a dozen cases and recovered more than $70 million in redress.

What is new in Thursday’s notice is the emphasis on whether the platforms’ own ad systems should face specific obligations when scam ads impersonate real entities and are amplified through automated targeting and delivery tools.

The commission voted 2-0 to submit the notice for publication in the Federal Register. Once it is published there, the public will have 60 days to comment. The FTC said comments will be posted to Regulations.gov.