Dangerous counterfeit goods can dampen the festive spirit – DV Journal

Tourists used to shop at the open-air markets along Canal Street in New York City looking for fake Gucci handbags, fake Rolexes and counterfeit sunglasses to take home to Atlanta or Austin, Texas. Now those shoppers can log on to social media and the Internet for their fashion faux pas.

With the holiday shopping season approaching, retail groups are putting pressure on social media companies like Meta to crack down on online counterfeit stores.

“There’s a lot of back-end information that they have, not just on merchants, but through the various programs that brands are participating in now, around IP counterfeits, where the knowledge standard is available to platforms,” Jennifer Hanks, Senior Director American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) trademark protection against InsideSources.

AAFA members have spent more than $1 million this year fighting counterfeit goods that are taking jobs away from American retail workers.

AAFA recently gathered on Capitol Hill along with other trade groups to display tables full of counterfeit products purchased online. The counterfeits ranged from imitation water filters to prescription medications to Elf on the Shelf dolls.

While some fakes were easy to spot, others were so convincing that they fooled customers and law enforcement alike. A recent study from Michigan State University’s Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection (A-CAPP) found that 68 percent of consumers purchased counterfeit products at least once in the past year. Nearly 40 percent chose to keep the item, despite knowing it was fraud.

Bought a fake water filter online next to a real GE water filter.

Those knockoffs aren’t just fake. Some are also dangerous, made with hazardous materials. For example, the Water Quality Association revealed that some fake water filters were filled with newspaper that did not remove lead or mercury from the water. Other fake filters contaminated the water they were supposed to purify.

AAFA conducted a survey of the top counterfeit products seized by Customs and Border Protection agents, which found that 36 percent of the 47 products contained toxic chemicals and heavy metals that are harmful to humans. Hanks said authentic products undergo quality control methods that prevent contaminated products from reaching the market.

Perhaps more troubling in A-CAPP’s survey results was who the scammers were able to dupe. More young, religious men from lower-income households purchased counterfeits online compared to other demographic groups.

Paul DelPonte, executive director of the National Crime Prevention Council, told InsideSources that it’s easy to mislead people who scour the Internet for the best possible deal.

What people don’t know is that the groups making the counterfeit products are usually the worst of the worst, he said. International drug cartels and human traffickers are part of the counterfeiters’ network.

“Al Capone would have loved to have the Internet,” DelPonte noted.

DelPonte believes there is a simple solution to the counterfeiting problem: hold social media companies accountable.

“(They) have a lot of excuses, but if you hold their feet to the fire, they can take the stuff away,” he said.

Retail, apparel and pharmaceutical manufacturers lobbied the Biden administration and Congress to pass the SHOP SAFE Act.

The bipartisan legislation would make online platforms liable for a civil suit if a third party uses the platform to sell a counterfeit good. Sites can avoid a civil lawsuit if they are found to have taken “reasonable steps” to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods. Platforms are also required to verify all third-party sellers.

Opponents say the SHOP SAFE Act would hurt small, legitimate sellers who offer products such as used baby clothes or homemade goods.

AAFA wants the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to add apps like Facebook, Instagram and Threads to the Notorious Markets List (NML). The list identifies websites and physical markets where copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting are suspected to occur. Other platforms AAFA wants to mention are AliExpress, DHgate and Shopee.

The group hopes that platforms added to the NML will start taking counterfeiting seriously.

While government regulation can significantly reduce counterfeiting, advocates emphasize that individuals also play a critical role in preventing the sale of counterfeit goods.

That includes carefully assessing each product before purchase, looking at seller reviews, and demanding a refund if a fake item was purchased. DelPonte is proposing a letter-writing campaign to social media companies asking for greater enforcement of counterfeit laws.

“Say, ‘Look, I don’t want my kids on this platform.’ You know, it’s very hard as a parent to balance the pressures of today, they don’t need that problem on top of it.