AAFA calls out Meta and Shopee for enabling counterfeiting

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has increased its pressure on US authorities as it continues to call for the implementation of policy changes and the establishment of consistent brand protection in regards to fighting counterfeits.

As part of its campaign, AAFA has nominated Singaporean e-commerce company Shopee and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to be listed in this year’s report on Notorious Markets.

It will be the third time the organisation has requested for Meta and its associated platforms – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – to be listed as a Notorious Market, as it continues to claim the social media company publicises fraudulent advertisements and counterfeit products on its platform.

AAFA also raised concerns over Alibaba Cloud, Lazada and Amazon.

The Notorious Markets report, which is managed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), identifies physical and online marketplaces that engage or facilitate substantial copyright privacy and trademark counterfeiting.

AAFA said these methods have grown exponentially on major e-commerce and social media platforms, causing US brands to spend millions on identifying and policing malpractices.

The organisation also provided information on these added costs imposed on companies, with one member in particular quoting that its legal costs amounted to at least two million dollars per year in its attempts to carry out enforcement actions.