AAFA draws attention to platforms gaining from sale of counterfeits

The platforms are Meta’s Facebook and Instagram; Shopee; Alibaba's AliExpress and Taobao.  

The actions of these platforms puts businesses, workers, consumers and American innovation in danger, AAFA said in a release.

“While this trend is not replicated across every online platform, it represents an underlying concern: e-commerce platforms are often driven to maximise profits at the expense of one or more components of brand protection,” AAFA said.

"Every day, counterfeits, and the fraudulent ads, fraudulent websites, and dupe influencers that promote them, flood platforms, deceiving consumers and complicating the important work of brand protection professionals to take down illicit and dangerous goods," explained AAFA's senior director of brand protection Jennifer Hanks.

“All platforms must step up and take accountability for their willful blindness by instituting proactive, preventative measures so counterfeits are not visible on platforms in the first place," she added.

“The Trump Administration has an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the insufficient steps these marketplaces take to block counterfeiters while raising awareness among American consumers about this hidden online danger,” AAFA president and chief executive officer Steve Lamar said.

A concerning trend raised in 2025 by AAFA members is the alarming trend correlated to artificial intelligence (AI). Counterfeits and intellectual property infringement have significantly worsened as sophisticated bad actors exploit AI faster than the platforms themselves harness the power of AI to block counterfeits.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)