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Friday, January 18, 2013
by Meg McEvoy
Facebook is not doing enough to ensure that ads for counterfeit goods and scamming schemes stay off its site, the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman stated in a follow-up letter to a meeting with the social media giant.
The ombudsman last November met with Facebook representatives to discuss the problem, as well as the site's increase in "sponsored stories" advertising.
Regarding misleading ads, the ombudsman said in her letter, "Facebook brings a significant number of ads for web shops and scamming schemes that are in violation of the Norwegian Marketing Control Act." The letter said Facebook "generally agrees" it has a problem with ads for counterfeit merchandise and scamming schemes.
The sheer number of potentially illegal ads indicates that Facebook's screening processes are not sufficient, the letter stated. Facebook representatives said the company focuses on user education and takes down potentially unlawful ads after receiving complaints, according to the letter.
The November 2012 letter also discussed a hike in commercial messages on Facebook: "For consumers, there is a burden in having to sort through their News Feed in order to identify authentic updates on friends' activities, as opposed to commercial communications." The ombudsman letter said Norwegian anti-spam laws, as well as Article 13 of the European Union e-Privacy Directive barring unsolicited messages might apply, because the stories are "delivered to consumers through an electronic method of communication that permits individual communication." Facebook could be required to obtain consent to display ads in users' news feeds under European law, the ombudsman letter said.
Ads on Facebook have been targeted as running afoul of United States law as well. Bloomberg BNA's Social Media Law & Policy Report in October 2012 reported on a complaint filed against Facebook by an apparel retailer that accused the social media site of overlooking ads for counterfeit National Football League merchandise. The plaintiff alleged, among other claims, that Facebook's ads for counterfeit merchandise would appear alongside pages for official NFL gear, lending legitimacy to the illegal ads. The complaint alleged violations of the Lanham Act and the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act.
And, companies like Facebook have no doubt taken heed of Google's August 2011 $500 million forfeiture to the Department of Justice over allegations it intentionally allowed ads from Canadian pharmacies that resulted in unlawful importation of prescription drugs. An investigation revealed that Google had been on-notice about the illegal ads as early as 2003.
Copyright 2013, The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
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