Facebook parent Meta is giving brands more power to report the misuse of their brand on Facebook and Instagram. Brands will be able to more easily report violations, even when the ads or content do not violate the brands’ intellectual property.
“Brand Rights Protection is a single tool that enables businesses to find and report misuse of their brand across ads and organic content on Facebook and Instagram,” Meta said in Monday’s announcement, and, in order to save brands’ time, it is rolling out a simplified takedown request experience.
Meta said it uses automated detection and content review systems that remove fake accounts and scam posts – in 2024, it removed over 157 million “pieces of ad content globally across Facebook and Instagram for violating our policies against Fraud, Scam, and Deceptive Practices or Unacceptable Business Practices.”
While the efforts to crack down on scams is commendable, it’s important to remember that brands don’t necessarily fight fair when going after IP violations – for example, SAD schemes (see a recent development via Technology & Marketing Law blog).
Legitimate small merchants and online sellers can find themselves caught between overaggressive brands and fraudsters who target even the little guys, with little to no power to fight back in either instance. Given the fact Meta uses automated systems to police Facebook and Instagram, it may also be difficult for sellers to correct mistakes when brands mistakenly (or perhaps not so mistakenly) target them.
In Monday’s announcement, Meta wrote, “In an effort to streamline the process and reduce the administrative burden on people using Brand Rights Protection, we have redesigned the takedown request experience to minimize required steps.”
The Drafts tab now has sub-tabs per violation type (Copyright, Counterfeit, Impersonation, and Trademark), and brands can now search within the Reports tab using email report IDs, keywords, trademark names, and report owner names.
“This simplified reporting experience is more intuitive and user-friendly, making it easier for brands to manage and execute their takedown requests – ultimately requiring fewer steps and saving them time,” according to Meta.