Meta Platforms has introduced more stringent rules for companies advertising financial products and services in Australia, the Instagram and Facebook owner announced on Monday.

The move comes as the social media giant seeks to clamp down on scams, with the company having removed 8,000 bait ads that misled consumers into believing celebrities were advertising products.

The ads were intended to lure consumers into donating money to fake investment programmes.

The new restriction will require advertisers to verify payee and payer information, including an Australian financial services licence number, before they can run financial services ads.

Once verified, advertisers will have to include the payer and payee details in their ads, which will appear in a ‘Paid for By’ disclaimer after the ad is approved.

Will Easton, chief executive officer of Meta ANZ, said in a statement: “The introduction of financial advertiser verification is an important additional step towards protecting people in Australia from these sophisticated scammers.”

Last month, the Australian government decided to abandon plans to fine internet platforms up to five per cent of their global turnover if they failed to prevent the spread of misinformation online.

The bill was part of a broader regulatory effort to hold technology companies accountable for the content on their platforms.

The proposal was dropped due to lack of support in the Senate.

Last week, Google and Meta urged the Australian government to delay a bill that would ban minors under the age of 16 from using most social media.

However, the Social Media Minimum Age bill was passed by the Senate with 34 votes to 19.

The new law will force tech giants including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and X to prevent minors from accessing their platforms or risk facing substantial fines of up to (AUD) $50 million.

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