Finfluencers (financial influencers) use social media platforms to share snippets of financial information with their followers. We recently discussed the rise of Finfluencers and their impact in our article here.
Taking action
The FCA has set out to crack down on Finfluencers, claiming that their lack of financial education and qualifications has led to the publication of unauthorised, and potentially misleading, financial information and advice. For example, it is now a criminal offence to share financial promotions online which have not been pre-approved by an FCA-authorised firm.
Recently, FCA Director of Consumer Investments, Lucy Castledine, appeared before the Treasury Select Committee and spoke about the growing risks posed by Finfluencers, the steps the FCA is taking to tackle these and the need for both Big Tech and Social Media Companies to do more in tackling the issue.
Challenges in tackling finfluencers
The FCA stated that Big Tech Companies should be more proactive in shutting down Finfluencer social media accounts and removing posts promoting unauthorised financial schemes and businesses. While the FCA has the power to issue 'takedown requests' to Social Media Platforms and companies to shut down Finfluencer accounts, compliance is voluntary. It was highlighted that while, in practice, most platforms do eventually comply, delays are common – with Meta reportedly taking up to six weeks in some cases. The FCA argues that these companies have the technology and tools to identify Finfluencer accounts and posts and should be taking proactive steps without waiting for formal requests from the FCA.
Another challenge highlighted by the FCA is that scammers often create multiple social media accounts to promote unauthorised financial promotions and businesses. The FCA can only issue a takedown notice one account at a time, which ultimately means new accounts often appear before old ones are removed, leaving the FCA with a considerable backlog.
More to come?
The FCA has reported that it has joined with nine regulators from across the globe in a crackdown against illegal finfluencers. The week of action from 2 June 2025 targeted illegal financial promotions by rogue finfluencers. As well as a small number of arrests, the FCA has issued 50 warning letters which they report will result in over 650 take down requests on social media platforms and more than 50 websites being operated by unauthorised finfluencers. With criminal proceedings being authorised in three cases, this is a serious shot across the bows for finfluencers - one they would ignore at their peril.
This article was written by Rose Williams, Trainee Solicitor in MFMac's Banking & Finance team.
