The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into Booking.com under the Digital Services Act, saying the Amsterdam-based site may not be doing enough to stop fraudulent property listings and phishing, The Guardian reports.
A Commission official described the company's anti-fraud measures as substandard. Investigators will also look at "reservation hijacks", in which criminals use stolen data to pose as hosts and ask guests for payment, and at whether paid promotion of some properties was clearly labelled. Breaches of the law can bring fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover, though the Commission said the probe did not prejudge the outcome.
Booking.com said it was engaging constructively and that security and trust were top priorities. The Dutch consumer body Consumentenbond logged 200 scam reports involving the platform in 2025, more than double the previous year.
Source: The Guardian
