Wall Street Slides as Warsh Fed Nomination, Hot Inflation, and Precious Metals Rout Shake Markets 
China Manufacturing PMI Slips Into Contraction in January as Weak Demand Pressures Economy 
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Explores Merger Options With Tesla or xAI, Reports Say 
Apple Faces Margin Pressure as Memory Chip Prices Surge Amid AI Boom 
UK Employers Plan Moderate Pay Rises as Inflation Pressures Ease but Persist 
U.S. Eases Venezuela Oil Sanctions to Boost American Investment After Maduro Ouster 
Google Halts UK YouTube TV Measurement Service After Legal Action 
Oil Prices Slide Nearly 3% as U.S.-Iran Talks Ease Geopolitical Tensions 
Apple Earnings Beat Expectations as iPhone Sales Surge to Four-Year High 
Dollar Holds Firm as Markets Weigh Warsh-Led Fed and Yen Weakness Ahead of Japan Election 
Philippines Manufacturing PMI Hits Nine-Month High Despite Weak Confidence Outlook 
China Home Prices Rise in January as Government Signals Stronger Support for Property Market 
EU Recovery Fund Faces Bottlenecks Despite Driving Digital and Green Projects 
Nvidia Confirms Major OpenAI Investment Amid AI Funding Race 
OpenAI Reportedly Eyes Late-2026 IPO Amid Rising Competition and Massive Funding Needs 
Asian Markets Slide as Silver Volatility, Earnings Season, and Central Bank Meetings Rattle Investors 
Pentagon and Anthropic Clash Over AI Safeguards in National Security Use 
Meta Platforms has introduced stricter ad regulations for financial products in Australia, aiming to curb scams. Advertisers must now verify credentials, including financial licenses, to ensure transparency and deter fraudulent schemes on its platforms.
Meta Enforces Stricter Rules for Financial Advertisements in Australia
According to Reuters, in an effort to curb scams on social media, Instagram and Facebook owner Meta Platforms announced on Monday that it had implemented more stringent regulations for advertising of financial products and services targeting Australians.
Meta announced in October that it had removed 8,000 "celeb bait" adverts in an effort to combat the prevalence of investment frauds involving the exploitation of famous people's likenesses. The action follows a joint effort by Meta and Australian banks to combat this problem.
Advertisers Must Verify Financial Credentials
According to Meta, in order for advertisers to run financial services ads, they must now validate their payer and beneficiary details, as well as their Australian Financial Services License number.
"The introduction of financial advertiser verification is an important additional step towards protecting people in Australia from these sophisticated scammers," stated Will Easton, managing director of Meta ANZ-Insurance.
Following verification, the business stated that advertisers will be required to provide their payer and beneficiary information in their advertising. This information will be displayed in a "Paid for By" disclaimer once the ad is approved.
Broader Regulatory Actions Targeting Tech Platforms
Internet platforms in Australia might have been fined up to five percent of their worldwide income if they failed to take measures to stop the spread of disinformation online, but last month, the center-left government shelved those proposals, per Investing.com.
In the run-up to the federal election in just over a year, the law was a component of a broad regulatory crackdown by Canberra, where politicians have voiced concerns about tech platforms based overseas infringing on the country's sovereignty.
Australia Bans Social Media for Minors Under 16
A landmark rule that prohibits children under the age of 16 from using social media was approved by Australia this week.
