Regulators seek to curb unauthorised promotions on social media
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has coordinated international action aimed at stopping social media finfluencers from promoting financial products illegally, warning that consumers’ money is being put at risk.
Seventeen regulators took part in a “week of action” which included enforcement activity, consumer awareness campaigns, and educational programmes for finfluencers who want to act responsibly.
This week we led 16 global regulators in taking action against finfluencers illegally promoting financial products.
— Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) April 24, 2026
We found 1,267 illegal financial adverts, which reached a minimum of 2,338,372 UK accounts.
We're calling for social media platforms to step up and play a more… pic.twitter.com/g1MylZcPWx
In the UK, the FCA said it had secured a guilty plea from Aaron Chalmers, a former cast member of Geordie Shore, over unlawful promotions on social media. The regulator had also started criminal proceedings against two other individuals for similar offences.
Aside from these, the FCA also reported sending four targeted warning letters to individuals suspected of making unauthorised financial promotions. It issued 34 warning alerts about unauthorised firms or individuals, and updated a further 14 existing warnings.
It had made 120 requests for social media accounts to be taken down for hosting illegal finfluencer content. Within those accounts, it identified 1,267 unlawful financial adverts that reached at least 2,338,372 UK accounts. The FCA said 66% of the adverts were linked to firms or individuals already named on its Warning List.
The UK regulator called on social media companies to do more to prevent illegal promotions from appearing online, arguing that platforms were failing to enforce their own policies designed to block unlawful content.
“This collective push with international partners is vital in helping to protect millions of consumers from harm,” said Steve Smart (pictured right), executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority.
“We will only make real progress in the fight against financial crime if every part of the system plays its role - including social media firms.”
The FCA said the latest operation followed a previous international week of action involving eight regulators in June 2025.
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