One of the most frustrating aspects of my work as a local councillor is hearing from constituents who have fallen victim to online fraud. They lose their life savings, their confidence, and their trust in the financial system. Yet somehow, while banks are held accountable for security, the big tech platforms that enabled the scam in the first place walk away unscathed. This needs to change.

The Inequality of Accountability

Here's what infuriates me about the current system: when someone falls victim to a bank fraud, there's a mechanism in place. The bank investigates, they're held liable, and victims have recourse. But when someone is defrauded through a platform owned by Meta, Google, or TikTok—where the scammers set up fake profiles and advertise their schemes—who bears the cost? The victim does. The platforms claim they're not responsible, they're merely hosting content. It's a convenient escape route that Reform UK believes must end.

Reform UK's position on this issue is straightforward and backed by common sense: if a bank can be held liable for fraud occurring on their platform, why shouldn't tech companies face the same standards? These aren't neutral spaces anymore. They're sophisticated marketing and communication platforms where bad actors deliberately prey on vulnerable people, often the elderly or those less tech-savvy.

Shared Responsibility, Shared Solutions

I'm not calling for tech companies to be destroyed or for innovation to be stifled. What I'm asking for is shared responsibility. When someone loses £5,000 to a scam that originated on a social media platform, that platform should have skin in the game. They should have a financial incentive to invest in better security, better fraud detection, and better content moderation.

Consider this: if Meta, Google, and TikTok knew they'd be liable for fraud losses on their platforms, wouldn't they suddenly find the resources to invest in AI-powered fraud detection? Wouldn't they employ more moderators? Wouldn't they actively work to remove scam content within hours rather than weeks? Of course they would—it's called market incentives, and it works.

The current system is fundamentally broken. Tech companies have generated unprecedented wealth by connecting billions of people, yet they accept zero accountability when those connections are weaponised for fraud. This is precisely the kind of corporate irresponsibility that Reform UK exists to challenge. We believe in a level playing field where everyone—banks, tech companies, and citizens—plays by the same rules.

Protecting Hardworking Families

At the end of the day, this is about protecting people. Working families across Preston East and across Britain deserve a financial system where they can trust that someone is responsible for their security. Shared liability between banks and tech platforms would finally create that accountability. It would mean someone—and someone with deep pockets—is incentivised to stop the fraud before it happens, rather than simply offering lip service after the damage is done.

Reform UK will continue pushing for policies that put people first and corporations on notice. If big tech wants the profits that come from hosting billions of users, they need to accept the responsibility that comes with it. It's that simple.