Facebook Removes 16K Accounts For Fake Review Trading After UK CMA's Second Intervention: Report

Facebook Inc FB suspended 16,000 accounts for transacting fake reviews of products and services on its platforms, as U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) second intervention, Reuters reports.
CMA’s follow-up probe revealed the existence of illegal trade in fake reviews on both Facebook and Instagram despite Facebook’s pledge to remove the issues in 2020.
Facebook also incorporated changes to spot, eliminate and avoid paid content that could deceive users on its platforms, including photo-sharing app Instagram.
The CMA initiated a crackdown on false reviews from 2019, asking Facebook and e-commerce platform eBay Inc EBAY to monitor their websites after discovering evidence regarding the budding marketplace for deceptive customer reviews on the platforms. The fake review gained momentum following the growing online shift of the consumers due to the pandemic.
Facebook also attracted CMA’s antitrust scrutiny over the acquisition of GIF website Giphy. The company is under global pressure over its data-sharing practices, fake news, and hate speech.
CMA’s Facebook scrutiny coincides with Britain’s initiatives for a dedicated digital markets unit focused on digital platform governance.
Price action: FB shares traded lower by 0.26% at $312.21 on the last check Friday.