Press Release

Amazon Brand Protection Report Doesn’t Compute

 
Amazon’s Latest Report on Counterfeit Merchandise Whitewashes Its Questionable Track Record

 
Washington, DC – The Buy Safe America Coalition, a diverse group of retailers, consumer groups, wholesaler-distributors, manufacturers and law enforcement officials that support efforts to protect consumers and communities from the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods, today released the following statement on Amazon’s 2020 Brand Protection Report. 
 
Amazon’s Brand Protection Report was clearly designed to garner headlines and sound impressive, but their self-reported statistics raise a couple of basic questions for journalists and lawmakers alike. 

1. Jeff Bezos whitewashed Amazon’s issues with illicit merchandise when testifying before Congress. But now, amid intense and well-deserved scrutiny, Amazon claims to take down over 10 billion in suspected bad listings. With 1.6 million active sellers on the e-commerce platform, this number seems out of left field.
2. Why was Amazon slapped with a court order to prohibit the sale of counterfeit facemasks after relisting its own supply of the items three times? For a company now touting its commitment to curbing the flow of knockoff merchandise, its counterfeit report should raise questions.
3. Foreign Amazon sites have become a hotbed for counterfeits.  Earlier this year the USTR named them to the “notorious markets” list, which identified sites and companies that are facilitating the sale of counterfeit goods.
4. Why is Amazon opposing the INFORM Consumers Act? This widely supported legislation represents a practical solution to the barrage of stolen and counterfeit items that are found on the e-commerce platform.

 
“While Amazon’s Brand Protection Report might look good on paper, it carries little weight given the company’s track record and its continued opposition to the INFORM Consumers Act — bipartisan legislation that would safeguard consumers and small businesses nationwide,” said Michael Hanson, Buy Safe America Coalition spokesperson. “If Amazon is truly committed to stopping the sale of dangerous merchandise, the e-commerce giant would do more than push out glossy, misleading press releases and publicly support this legislation.”
 
Visit BuySafeAmerica.org for more information about the growing problem of stolen and counterfeit goods and solutions to better protect consumers and businesses.
 

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The Buy Safe America Coalition represents a diverse group of responsible retailers, consumer groups, manufacturers, intellectual property advocates and law enforcement officials who support efforts at all levels of government to protect consumers and communities from the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods.