ENFORCEMENT

Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement
SECTION 2
FIG. 39: Enforcement Activity Suggests the Scope of
Problem Is Large. 57
TIP OF THE ICEBERG (WHAT WE SEE):
• Operation Watch: One not-for-profit trade
association identified the availability of over
30,000 individual images of counterfeit goods on
one social media platform in just one day
• Operation Jasper: Law enforcement in the
United Kingdom took down over 4,300 social
media listings featuring counterfeit products
over the course of a few weeks. Since its launch,
the operation has seen over 95,000 images of
counterfeit goods removed from social platforms.
• A study estimated that approximately one
quarter of ads on one leading social media site
were for counterfeit goods
BELOW THE SURFACE (THE DANGERS OF WHAT
WE DON’T KNOW):
• Size and scope by the issue, by platform
and industry
• Associated illicit activity, such as PII theft
and other consumer frauds
According to one United Kingdom law enforcement
report, social media has recently overtaken online
auction sites as criminals’ “channel-of-choice” for
counterfeit and piracy activity. 56
Rogue actors operating in social media channels
seek to deceive consumers in a number of relevant
ways. These methods include: using social media
tools to generate web traffic and divert consumers to
websites selling their infringing products; using in-site
“buy buttons” facilitating purchases directly from page
posts and ads; relying on pseudonymous product
reviews, blog entries and fabricated social media profiles
to provide an aura of legitimacy; and using links and
paid-for advertising space on social media platforms to
generate illicit profits through the unlawful exploitation
of third-party content. 58
On the content-side, it has been reported that in
the first quarter of 2015 alone, 725 of the 1,000 most
watched videos on a leading U.S.-based social media
site were unauthorized re-uploads from other mediahosting
websites, generating a total of 17 billion
misappropriated views in this short period. 59 These
unauthorized re-uploads threaten the livelihood of
original content creators and the artistic community
as it deprives them of payment for their works, while
simultaneously creating the possibility that unwarranted
profits will be generated by social media channels
through paid-for advertising featured alongside such
unauthorized copyrighted content. 60
Going forward, industry and policymakers must work
together to address copyright infringement facilitated
through the use of social media channels. In light of
the volume of traffic and the complexity of the issues
(including free speech and privacy rights of social media
users), coupled with the threats to public health and
safety (such as with the sale of fake medicines) and
infringement of copyrights, the social media industry
has an important role to play to establish meaningful
standards and best practices to curb illicit activities on
their respective platforms, while protecting the rights and
ability of users to use those platforms for non-infringing
and other lawful activities.
ACTION NO. 2.13: Encourage the
development of industry standards and best
practices, through a multistakeholder process,
to curb abuses of social media channels for
illicit purposes, while protecting the rights of
users to use those channels for non-infringing
and other lawful activities. Social media
platforms generally have terms of services
prohibiting unlawful practices, and opportunities
exist to enhance express prohibitions with
respect to copyright infringement and the
promotion and sale of counterfeit merchandise,
72