The European Commission has launched formal proceedings against Booking.com to investigate possible breaches of the Digital Services Act, the European regulation on digital services. The investigation will focus on three areas: fraudulent listings, phishing scams and advertising transparency. The first concerns the presence on the platform of false or non-compliant listings, including those relating to non-existent accommodation providers and cases of impersonation. Brussels will assess whether Booking.com has correctly identified the risks and taken effective measures to prevent fraud and remove irregular listings. The second area concerns phishing scams that exploit booking and guest data. The Commission will examine how information is shared with accommodation providers and how the messaging system operates, to verify whether sufficient safeguards have been put in place to prevent the misuse of names, telephone numbers and email addresses to request fraudulent payments. Finally, the investigation will focus on the transparency of sponsored listings. Accommodation providers can pay higher commissions to gain greater visibility in search results, but users must be able to clearly recognise such content as advertising and know who is promoting it, who is funding it and why it is being displayed. According to figures cited by Brussels, 66 per cent of online hotel bookings are made via the platform, whilst scams are reported to have risen by 500 per cent between 2022 and 2024, reaching a total value of €4.2 billion in 2024 alone. The Commission will now launch an in-depth investigation and calls on the company to cooperate throughout the proceedings. The aim is to verify compliance with European obligations regarding user safety and the transparency of digital services.
Booking: the EU launches an investigation into the risks of fake listings and phishing
The European Commission has launched formal proceedings against Booking.com to investigate possible breaches of the Digital Services Act, the European regulation on digital services. The investigation will focus on three areas: fraudulent listings, phishing scams and advertising transparency. The first concerns the presence on the platform of false or non-compliant listings, including those relating to non-existent accommodation providers and cases of impersonation. Brussels will assess whether Booking.com has correctly identified the risks and taken effective measures to prevent fraud and remove irregular listings. The second area concerns phishing scams that exploit booking and guest data. The Commission will examine how information is shared with accommodation providers and how the messaging system operates, to verify whether sufficient safeguards have been put in place to prevent the misuse of names, telephone numbers and email addresses to request fraudulent payments. Finally, the investigation will focus on the transparency of sponsored listings. Accommodation providers can pay higher commissions to gain greater visibility in search results, but users must be able to clearly recognise such content as advertising and know who is promoting it, who is funding it and why it is being displayed. According to figures cited by Brussels, 66 per cent of online hotel bookings are made via the platform, whilst scams are reported to have risen by 500 per cent between 2022 and 2024, reaching a total value of €4.2 billion in 2024 alone. The Commission will now launch an in-depth investigation and calls on the company to cooperate throughout the proceedings. The aim is to verify compliance with European obligations regarding user safety and the transparency of digital services.