Social media firm Facebook Inc eliminated 16,000 groups for selling or shopping for fake reviews of services and products on its platforms after Britain`s competitors watchdog intervened for the second time, the regulator stated.
US-based Facebook additionally made additional modifications to detect, take away and stop paid content material that would mislead customers on its platforms, together with common photo-sharing app Instagram, UK`s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated on Friday.
“We have engaged extensively with the CMA to address this issue. Fraudulent and deceptive activity is not allowed on our platforms, including offering or trading fake reviews,” a Facebook consultant stated.
The CMA started a crackdown on false reviews from 2019 when it first requested Facebook and e-commerce platform eBay Inc to examine their web sites after it discovered proof of a rising market for deceptive buyer reviews on the platforms.
Facebook has additionally been underneath scrutiny by the CMA for antitrust issues over the expertise firm`s acquisition of the GIF web site Giphy. It has been underneath strain the world over for its data-sharing practices in addition to fake information and hate speech.
“The pandemic has meant that more and more people are buying online, and millions of us read reviews to enable us to make informed choices when we shop around. That’s why fake and misleading reviews are so damaging,” stated CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli.
CMA`s crackdown on Facebook coincides with Britain`s efforts to arrange a devoted digital markets unit inside the regulatory authority to particularly take a look at governing digital platforms.
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