Warner Pushes Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department to Address Rampant Fraud in Digital Advertising

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, wrote to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson and to Attorney General Pam Bondi expressing concern over continued prevalence of fraud in the digital advertising industry, highlighting how this fraud hurts U.S. Government (USG) customers, and therefore, American taxpayers.
“The failures and misrepresentations of these verification vendors amount to far more than simple contradictions of their marketing puffery,”wrote Sen. Warner.“As publishers and advertisers rely on these services’ asserted ability to avoid bot traffic and deliver content to customers, these verification firms serve as cover for the systemic failure by key ecosystem stakeholders, potentially compromising a significant sector of the online ad market.”
The phenomenon of digital fraud has skyrocketed in recent years, withreports indicatingthat as of 2023, digital fraud has grown to $84 billion, up from $7.4 billion in 2017.
He continued,“Failure to meet the terms of contracts result in the misuse of taxpayer dollars, and undermine the efficacy of government public awareness and job recruitment campaigns. These failures drive inflated ad costs and reduced effectiveness for thousands of small and midsize businesses and charities that rely on digital advertising to succeed, and these increased costs trickle down to consumers who end up paying more for basic goods and services.”
In his letter to the FTC, Sen. Warner requested the commission investigate this wide-spread fraud:
Additionally, Senator Warner requested that the Justice Department investigate the following:
Sen. Warner has been vocal about the harm caused by this continued fraud for years, and as the digital space continues to grow in reach and importance, he has stressed the need to reign it in. In 2016, Sen. Warnerfirst called on the FTCto protect consumers from this digital fraud. In 2018, heexpressed concernover its continued prevalence following adetailed reportingabout inaction by the FTC and Google to curb these efforts.
A copy of the letter to the FTC is availablehere. A copy of the letter to the DOJ is availablehere.
###