Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter could face regulatory action a consumer group made complaints the European commission and consumer authorities about the platforms' alleged role in promoting misleading crypto assets.

The complaints were made by the European Consumer Group (BEUC). 

The group alleges a growing number of advertisements promoting crypto assets on social media platforms amount to unfair commercial practice, exposing consumers to losing large amounts of money. 

It said this was happening through advertising and influencers.

The BEUC urged the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network to require the online platforms to impose stricter advertising policies on crypto and take measures to prevent influencers from misleading consumers.

It should then inform the European Commission about the effectiveness of the measures, the joint complaint said.

The group called on European consumer authorities to cooperate with European supervisory authorities for financial services to ensure the platforms adapt their advertising policies to prevent the misleading promotion of crypto.

Action taken by US regulators against crypto platforms Coinbase and Binance, along with last year's collapse of FTX, have sparked concerns over consumer protection related to crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ether.

"Crypto will be regulated soon, with the new Market in Crypto Assets Regulation but this legislation does not apply to the social media companies benefiting from the advertising of crypto at the expense of consumers," BEUC director-general Monique Goyens said in a statement.

"This is why we are turning to the authorities in charge of protecting consumers to ensure Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter fulfil their duty to protect consumers against crypto scams and false promises."

Consumer groups in Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain also signed up to the complaint.

ABC/Reuters