Meta has responded to the Australian Government’s consultation on Scams-Mandatory Industry Codes, advocating for an evidence-based approached and cross-industry collaboration.

The company's Regional Director of Policy for Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand & Pacific Islands, Mia Garlick, pointed out that the majority of scams in Australia occur via text message (33%), phone (29%) or email (22%), compared with 6% via the internet and 6% via social network and online forums.

"Scams are a society-wide challenge that many industries along with law enforcement are working to tackle," said Garlick. "Meta believes that cross-industry collaboration is key to tackling this challenge."

Meta is exploring measures such as new escalation channels for Australian trusted partners, new advertiser verification, and the rollout of new education resources including an anti-scam resource hub and new consumer campaigns with local partners. The company is committed to supporting industry and government efforts to disrupt and reduce scams in Australia through policies, automated systems, on-platform enforcement, tools and features.

"Scams are a highly adversarial space when malicious actors constantly evolve their tactics targeted at people across the internet, and Meta is committed to constantly strengthening our defences to stay ahead in helping to protect people," said Garlick.

"Tackling this solution can’t be done by one company or one sector in isolation. Given the significant existing and ongoing investment by companies, including Meta, the financial industry and other key stakeholders in combating scams, we believe that it is important that any new obligations set out by the government are targeted and evidence-based to achieve the goal of ensuring industry invests appropriately in combating scams."