Bank of England Governor Demands Social Media Accountability Amid Rising Fraud
Andrew Bailey criticizes platforms for 'no real liability' as deepfake scams proliferate and cyber fraud costs surge.
Carla Rooney
Andrew Bailey has condemned social media platforms for their role in online fraud.
Andrew Bailey asserts social media giants fail to prevent online scams; he claims no real liability exists for some firms despite a surge in fraud cases.
He stated, "We’ve moved into quite an extreme position of, well, these platforms are open to everybody and there’s no real liability to the provision of the platform to what’s on it."
Fraud now frequently commits via social media platforms and apps, not solely through traditional financial channels, Bailey claims.
Guess what? Everything’s on it. You know, the good, the bad and the incredibly ugly and downright criminal and terrible.
He further observed, "Guess what? Everything’s on it. You know, the good, the bad and the incredibly ugly and downright criminal and terrible."
Criminals reportedly stole £1.28 billion through payment fraud in 2025, a 4% increase from the previous year. 66% of these frauds originated online, according to UK Finance.
UK Finance called on tech firms to contribute financially and share expertise to help prevent online fraud, a sentiment Bailey echoed.
Bailey cited examples of AI agents hijacking devices and a French supermarket hack.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that cyber fraud risks undermining trust in financial systems globally.
Georgieva drew a parallel to her upbringing behind the Iron Curtain, where a lack of trust led people to keep money informally.
I don’t go around pointing the finger at people and saying: “You’re bad.” What I have said is: “Look, there is responsibility all around.” And we need to evolve to a world where everybody understands this responsibility, and everybody is then a part of addressing the problem.
Bailey insists, "We must get the social media companies involved because a lot of this fraud is transmitted through those channels."
He clarified his stance, stating, "I don’t go around pointing the finger at people and saying: “You’re bad.” What I have said is: “Look, there is responsibility all around.”"
The Governor added, "And we need to evolve to a world where everybody understands this responsibility, and everybody is then a part of addressing the problem."
These discussions took place at a panel event held to launch the 'Bangkok blueprint', a set of international principles aimed at avoiding cyber fraud in financial institutions.