PRESS RELEASE
WHAT TO FIX files DSA complaint over Meta’s monetization enforcement and reporting systems
Complaint asks regulators to investigate Meta for potential breaches of Articles 12, 14, 16, and 20 of the Digital Services Act.
21 September2026
| Media Inquiries: press@whattofix.tech
BRUSSELS — WHAT TO FIX has filed a complaint with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) against Meta Platforms Ireland under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The complaint calls on regulators to investigate Meta’s apparent failure to diligently enforce its monetization terms and to maintain effective systems for receiving, assessing and acting on reports of potentially illegal activity involving its monetization products.
The complaint follows more than a year of attempts by WHAT TO FIX to alert Meta to accounts apparently affiliated with EU-sanctioned actors that displayed public signs of access to Facebook monetization products, in possible violation of EU sanctions law.
It reflects WHAT TO FIX’s concern that Meta may be facilitating payments worth billions while lacking reliable systems to enforce its monetization rules and to process reports of potentially illegal monetization.
WHAT TO FIX’s requests to regulators
WHAT TO FIX believes that Meta’s inconsistent monetization enforcement, unsuitable notice-and-action mechanisms, ineffective complaint routes and inaccessible compliance contact point may amount to violations of Articles 12, 14, 16 and 20 of the DSA.
The complaint asks ACM, the Netherlands’ Digital Services Coordinator, to investigate Meta’s compliance with DSA provisions and require timely and effective remedies, with particular focus on:
- Monetization terms that clearly identify monetization policies, procedures, measures and tools as well as internal complaint routes;
- Reliable enforcement systems that support diligent, objective and proportionate application of monetization rules;
- Adequate escalation mechanisms that allow users to effectively notify the company to potentially violating and illegal monetization
WHAT TO FIX also asks Digital Services Coordinators to refer the matter to the European Commission, in accordance with Article 65(2), to examine whether the shortcomings identified may indicate wider failures in Meta’s systemic-risk assessment, mitigation and transparency obligations. This request follows indications that Meta did not disclose monetization-related risks and mitigation measures in its 2025 risk assessment report.
Basis of the complaint
Between June 2025 and July 2026, WHAT TO FIX made repeated attempts to alert Meta to 11 accounts seemingly affiliated with EU-sanctioned actors that displayed public signs of access to its monetization products, in possible violations of EU sanctions law.
As of 20 July 2026, 4 of the 11 Facebook accounts reported by WHAT TO FIX continued to display signs of monetization access, despite repeated and substantiated escalations via DSA-mandated escalation mechanisms, public reports and direct engagement with company executives and press teams.
Quotes
The following can be attributed to WHAT TO FIX’s Executive Director, Victoire Rio:
Facebook paid $3 billion to creators last year. And yet, our experience suggests that it may lack reliable systems to enforce its monetization rules and process user reports of potentially illegal monetization. When provided with credible evidence of suspected illegal monetization activity, Meta has a legal obligation under the DSA to investigate and act promptly, and communicate its decisions. We spent more than a year trying to alert Meta to likely violations of EU sanctions law. Instead of a clear route to the appropriate compliance team, we encountered a maze of unsuitable forms, automated responses and disconnected processes that appeared unable to handle monetization-related escalations.”The following can be attributed to WHAT TO FIX’s Policy Manager, Belen Luna Sanz:
We are asking the Dutch regulator to investigate whether Meta’s systems comply with the DSA and to require meaningful remedies. This is not only about eleven accounts, it is about whether one of the world’s largest platforms has adequate safeguards to mitigate legal risks associated with its monetization products. Monetization is part of a platform’s core infrastructure, not an add-on. Regulators and platforms must treat the distribution of earning opportunities with the same seriousness as the distribution of content.”Notes to editors
- WHAT TO FIX’s complaint concerns Meta Platforms Ireland and was filed with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the Dutch Digital Services Coordinator.
- The complaint asks ACM to investigate Meta’s monetization enforcement and reporting systems, not Meta’s compliance with EU sanctions law.
- Access to Meta monetization products is subject to Meta’s monetization terms. These give rise to immediate earning rights and balance accounts, as well as to the potential for fund accruals. Access to payouts requires the parallel successful registration of a payout account.
- Facebook reported paid $3 billion to creators in 2025. WHAT TO FIX documented a 17-fold increase in the number of benefiting accounts over the past 3 years.
- Supporting research and evidence are available through WHAT TO FIX’s investigations and Meta Monetization Archive.
About WHAT TO FIX
WHAT TO FIX is an evidence-based tech policy and accountability nonprofit registered in the Netherlands. Our work focuses on furthering the diagnosis of systemic risks and shifting adverse incentive structures. We’ve been pioneering research into social media monetization (mal)practices since 2019.
Media contact - press@whattofix.tech