Singapore orders Meta to use facial recognition to stem scams

The Singapore government has directed Meta to implement stronger safeguards such as facial recognition technology to combat Facebook impersonation scams. It is the first enforcement action under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA).

Facebook’s parent company must comply by September 30. In addition to deploying enhanced facial recognition, Meta is required to prioritize the review of user reports from Singapore to swiftly remove scam-related ads, accounts, profiles and business pages impersonating senior government officials.

Failure to comply could result in a fine of up to S$1 million (US$772,700), according to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Continued non-compliance may incur additional penalties of up to S$100,000 per day (US$77,286).

The directive follows a sharp rise in government official impersonation scams (GOIS), which surged by 200 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, reaching over 1,760 cases. Associated losses climbed 90 percent to approximately S$126 million (US$97.3 million), with each scam averaging S$72,000 ($55,645) in damages.

Between June 2024 and June 2025, MHA and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) observed a growing trend of scammers misusing Facebook to disseminate fake ads and profiles featuring doctored videos or images of public office holders. During this period, SPF disrupted around 2,000 such scams on the platform.

“Facebook is the top platform used by scammers to commit such impersonation scams,” MHA said, via Channel News Asia. “Stemming the proliferation of such impersonation scams is critical to protect the public from harm and uphold trust in our government and public institutions.”

While Meta has introduced global measures to address impersonation risks, authorities remain concerned about the scale of the problem in Singapore. The directive aims to reinforce the government’s stance on the issue. Previously, Meta received the go-ahead from South Korean regulators to introduce a facial recognition service that will block ads and accounts impersonating celebrities on Facebook to prevent scams and fraud.

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) mentioned ads that use celebrity faces to promote investing in stocks in its decision. The facial recognition service is also supposed to reduce the damage of deepfakes. Meta announced the service last October as a way to prevent celeb-bait ads and enable faster account recovery.

Meta also intends to pilot the facial recognition system in the UK and the European Union. The system is already being trialled in the U.S.

As for Singapore, the MHA also indicated that similar obligations may be imposed on other online platforms, with further details to be announced. Additionally, Meta will collaborate with authorities to extend its impersonation protection tools to other high-profile individuals in Singapore.

Meta reiterated that impersonation and deceptive use of public figures in ads violate its policies. The company said it removes such content when detected and continues to invest in detection systems, including facial recognition, alongside trained review teams and reporting tools. Meta added that it has introduced advertiser verification and will maintain cooperation with law enforcement, including pursuing legal action against perpetrators.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Facebook  |  facial recognition  |  fraud prevention  |  Meta  |  Singapore  |  social media