Social Media platforms Twitter and Facebook (which also owns Instagram) are coming under fire for approving sponsored posts from companies selling counterfeit merchandise.
Though both are members of the Ads Integrity Alliance, and have policies to deter deceitful advertisers, counterfeiters are copying nearly every detail of original products and designing landing pages that easily pass for those of established retailers, making it difficult for humans and algorithms alike to distinguish the real from the fake.
As of now, Facebook relies on users to flag the ads, addressing the problem after the fact and leaving hundreds of millions of their members vulnerable to scams. And while Facebook and Twitter don’t sell fake goods directly, many feel they should be held accountable for allowing the items to be promoted on their sites, as both companies profit off the ads.
According to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the global trade of counterfeit and pirated goods amounts to nearly half a trillion dollars a year – a number that’s expected to continue to rise if social media companies don’t take a more proactive approach.
You can read more about the advertising of counterfeit goods on social media at Engadget.
