FTC Weighs New Rules for Platforms Over Impersonation Scam Advertising

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public input on whether online platforms should have additional responsibilities for preventing advertisements that impersonate legitimate businesses and government agencies.

The FTC announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on September 24, 2026, examining how advertising optimization tools offered by social media platforms, search engines, and other digital marketplaces may contribute to the distribution of impersonation scams.

The agency is considering several possible approaches, including amending its existing Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses, developing a separate rule, or pursuing non-regulatory measures.

The inquiry comes as the FTC reports that consumers lost nearly $3.5 billion to impersonation scams in 2025. 

FTC Examines Platforms’ Role in Scam Advertising

The FTC’s inquiry focuses specifically on the advertising tools and services that online platforms provide to advertisers.

These systems can do more than simply display an advertisement. According to the ANPRM, platform tools can help develop ad copy, create or enhance images and videos, improve product listings, and use consumer information to tailor both advertising content and delivery. 

The agency is examining whether these capabilities can also help scammers make impersonation advertisements more effective at reaching consumers.

The FTC is seeking information about the financial incentives behind ad-optimization services, how the tools operate, and what platforms currently do to prevent advertisers from using them for deceptive purposes. 

Impersonation Scams Account for Billions in Reported Losses

The regulatory inquiry follows continued consumer reports involving impersonation fraud.

In 2025, the FTC received more than one million consumer reports involving imposter scams, with reported losses totaling nearly $3.5 billion. 

Online platforms also appear frequently in consumers’ reports about scams more broadly. Nearly 30% of consumers who reported losing money to a scam in 2025 said the interaction began on social media, with those consumers reporting approximately $2.1 billion in losses. 

The FTC is now examining whether platform advertising practices warrant additional regulatory attention when those tools are used in impersonation schemes.

FTC Considers New Responsibilities for Platforms

The ANPRM asks whether certain ad-optimization practices could constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices when they further impersonation scams.

It also asks whether such practices are sufficiently prevalent to warrant changes to the existing Impersonation Rule or the development of a separate regulation.

Among the possible measures identified for public comment are requirements or approaches involving:

• vetting advertisers before advertisements are distributed;
• monitoring advertisements once they are posted;
• investigating advertisements suspected of impersonation fraud;
• removing confirmed impersonation scam advertisements; and
• taking disciplinary action against advertisers responsible for them. 

These are areas on which the FTC is requesting comment rather than requirements currently imposed through this proceeding.

Existing Impersonation Rule Could Be Expanded

The FTC’s Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses took effect in April 2024. The rule addresses certain practices in which individuals or organizations materially and falsely pose as, or misrepresent their affiliation with, government entities or businesses.

The latest proceeding asks whether that framework should be updated to address the role online platforms and their advertising technologies may play in spreading impersonation scams.

The FTC is also leaving open the possibility of a separate rule or non-regulatory action instead of modifying the existing rule. 

Ad Optimization Comes Under Closer Review

The ANPRM reflects the increasingly sophisticated role advertising technology plays in determining what consumers see online.

Platforms can use information such as demographic characteristics, browsing activity, and search history to tailor advertisements and determine which consumers are likely to engage with them. Some platforms also offer artificial intelligence-powered tools that can optimize campaigns or help create advertising content. 

The FTC’s inquiry focuses on what happens when those same capabilities are used by advertisers engaged in impersonation scams.

The proceeding could therefore have implications not only for social media companies and search engines, but also for other digital marketplaces offering advertising optimization services.

Public Comments Will Inform the FTC’s Next Steps

The FTC has not established new platform obligations through the ANPRM. Instead, the proceeding represents an early stage of the rulemaking process in which the agency is gathering information about the market and potential regulatory approaches.

The Commission voted 2-0 to submit the ANPRM for publication in the Federal Register. 

The public comment period will remain open for 60 days following publication of the notice in the Federal Register, with submitted comments made available through Regulations.gov. 

Those comments could help determine whether the FTC moves forward with changes to its existing Impersonation Rule, develops a separate regulatory framework, or pursues another approach to online platforms and impersonation advertising.