SOCIAL media giants are a “disgrace” for making money from people’s misery due to scams “for too many years,” the digital, culture, media and sport committee (DCMS) heard today.

Committee chairman Julian Knight told a hearing that companies like Meta, Twitter and TikTok had failed to do enough to stop fraudsters and must “refund the British public for any scam.”

Speaking to Meta UK public policy manager Richard Earley, the Solihull MP said: “It seems incredible to me and to the public, the idea that you are systematically, over a period of years, making money from our constituents’ misery over being defrauded.

“You’re still waiting for legislation to come forward before you appropriately react in order to exclude these scams from your platforms permanently.”

Mr Earley defended Meta’s review process, which he said checks any advertisement to ensure it is in line with the company’s compliance and advertisement policies.

But Meta has yet to enforce an announcement it made last year that its review process would require all advertisements to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Mr Knight said: “People have lost thousands of pounds, some people have lost their entire livelihoods. Frankly, we have had people commit suicide as a result of the scams. You have just not done enough.”

Company representatives were given a grilling by MPs at the hearing, which focused on an inquiry into online safety and online harms.

Ochil and South Perthshire SNP MP John Nicolson criticised Twitter for its verification process, calling it “hopeless and chaotic” and said it did not work.

He referenced an account called Mickey Mouse which targeted footballer Marcus Rashford.

Twitter deputy head of UK policy Niamh McDade defended the process and condemned all forms of racist abuse on the platform.