Social media firm Facebook suspended 16,000 accounts for promoting or shopping for faux opinions of services and products on its platforms, after the Britain’s competitors watchdog intervened for the second time, the regulator mentioned.
US-based Facebook additionally made additional adjustments to detect, take away, and forestall paid content material which might mislead customers on its platforms, together with widespread photo-sharing app Instagram, UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) mentioned 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 mentioned.
The CMA started a crackdown on false opinions from 2019 when it first requested Facebook and e-commerce platform eBay to verify their web sites after it discovered proof of a rising market for deceptive buyer opinions on the platforms.
Facebook has additionally been beneath scrutiny by the CMA for antitrust considerations over the expertise firm’s acquisition of GIF web site Giphy. It has been beneath strain the world over for its knowledge sharing practices in addition to faux 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,” mentioned CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli.
CMA’s crackdown on Facebook coincides with Britain’s efforts to arrange a devoted digital markets unit throughout the regulatory authority to particularly take a look at governing digital platforms.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
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