Investigators from National Trading Standards’ eCrime team have criticised Facebook for failing to police the sale of fake luxury goods, including knock-off Rolexes and other luxury Swiss watches.
A report by The Sunday Times says the social media platform has tens of thousands of products listed on its marketplace, an area where individuals and businesses can advertise their goods.
National Trading Standards accuses the company of making millions of pounds from these listings as they are promoted using Facebook’s advertising tools.
“They do make money from this and are not doing enough to take down these products. We have tried and tried, but at the moment they often do not properly respond to requests to take down the products. This is unsatisfactory,” Mike Andrews, from the National Trading Standards eCrime Team told The Sunday Times.
A 30 second search of Facebook today identified several suspicious Rolexes offered for sale in the London area today. A “Steel and White Rolex Daytona with Box and Papers Included” is being offered for £220, for example.
Facebook says it is committed to protecting intellectual property rights for companies and is working with multiple agencies to crack down on counterfeiters.
