Bank of England governor urges tighter controls on criminal social media scams

Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, urged social-media companies to assume more accountability for illegal activity on their services. He cited recent AI-generated deepfakes that placed him in fictitious situations, such as confronting Nigel Farage, as evidence of the problem’s reach. Earlier this year, the Bank identified advertisements that directed users to bogus investment offers and fake news sites.

Bailey warned that one outlet model gives platforms little liability despite hosting both benign and criminal content. He called for a collective effort, insisting that responsibility must be shared across the ecosystem. The governor emphasized that tackling fraud requires active involvement from the platforms themselves.