FTC Examines New Duties for Platforms Carrying Impersonation Ads

The FTC published its announcement on September 24, 2026. The agency is considering whether online platforms should face new obligations when their ad-optimization systems may further impersonation scams.

Through an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FTC is requesting public comment before deciding whether to amend its existing Impersonation Rule or take another approach. Its inquiry covers tools offered by social media platforms, search engines and other digital marketplaces that optimize advertising from third parties, including advertisers that may be impersonating legitimate companies or government agencies.

The scale reported by consumers

In 2025, the FTC received more than 1 million consumer reports about imposter scams, with nearly $3.5 billion in reported losses. Among consumers who reported losing money to scammers that year, nearly 30% said their first contact came through social media platforms; losses reported in connection with those reports reached $2.1 billion.

The figures reflect reports received by the FTC rather than a verified count of every fraud incident. They identify where affected consumers said contact began, but they do not show that a platform's optimization system caused each reported loss.

What remains undecided

The FTC is seeking information about whether the practices under review are unfair or deceptive and how common they are. The options include amending the current rule, proposing a separate rule or using non-regulatory measures. The agency has not selected a final approach.

Instructions for filing comments will be included in the Federal Register notice. The FTC says comments will be due 60 days after that notice is published and will appear on Regulations.gov. Its announcement does not identify the notice's publication date, so a calendar deadline is not yet stated.