The other aspect of Facebook’s announcement touches on another sensitive subject—counterfeit goods being promoted through ads on Facebook and Instagram. The problem of counterfeiting has grown as Facebook introduced e-commerce tools that allow anyone to open up shop on the platform and start hawking goods.
In Facebook’s latest “transparency” report, where it reveals how much content has violated intellectual property, the company said it removed about 830,000 pieces of content related to counterfeit goods in the first half of 2020. Facebook removed 2.5 million pieces of content for violating copyright rules in the same timeframe.
Major brands, especially apparel makers, are particularly concerned about seeing knock-off products getting sold on social media and e-commerce sites. Facebook has beefed up its e-commerce features in the past year. It launched Shops, which are pop-up digital storefronts on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook also has Marketplace, where users can post items for sale.
On Tuesday, Facebook launched a way for brands to search Shops and Marketplace using images. Brands like a luxury handbag maker can upload images of their own apparel and find similar items that could violate their trademarks.