Facebook is being infiltrated by "fake review factories" despite new UK legislation set to make the activity illegal, Which? research has found.

The consumer champion investigated the social media site, finding that over a dozen Facebook groups are trading fake positive reviews for sites including Amazon on the platform in exchange for either free products or payment.

Researchers at Which? recently uncovered 14 groups publishing fake reviews on Amazon, Google and Trustpilot, sharing over 62,000 members between them.

“Fraudulent and deceptive activity is not allowed on our platforms, including offering or trading fake reviews,” said a Meta spokesperson. “We’ve removed the groups shared with us for violating our policies. While no enforcement is perfect, we continue to invest in new technologies and methods to protect our users from this kind of content.”

Which? said that it first unearthed groups on Facebook trading free products for positive Amazon reviews in 2018.

The investigation comes as the UK government is soon set to publish its Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, which aims to crack down on fake reviews and could see companies facing hefty fines from the UK’s competition watchdog.

"Despite previous interventions by the regulator, our latest findings suggest an industry dedicated to fake review trading continues to thrive on Facebook, leaving consumers exposed to misleading information on some of the world’s biggest review and shopping platforms," said Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy. “The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill – including strong enforcement and tough penalties for platforms that fail in their legal responsibilities – is sorely-needed to tackle fake reviews and ensure consumers have protections fit for the digital age.”

In its most recent investigation, Which? found six groups trading Amazon reviews in exchange for free products.

One group, which had over 15,000 members, claimed to be a genuine group setting up testing of Amazon products.

“When we detect fake reviews, we remove them and take appropriate action against those responsible, including through litigation in the UK and abroad," said an Amazon spokesperson. “Last year we shut down some of the largest fake review brokers and sued more than 10,000 Facebook group administrators."

The company added that it had launched fresh legal action against over 20 websites in the past few weeks, some of which targeted its UK store.

Google said that its policies clearly state that reviews must be based on real experiences, adding that it catches the "vast majority" of reviews that violate its rules before they're ever seen by consumers.

Trustpilot told Which? that it closely monitors Facebook groups claiming to sell fake reviews on its platform.

"Our Fraud & Investigations team actively trawls online data to identify leads for fake review sellers," they said. “Last year alone, we submitted 76 takedown requests to social media platforms – including Meta – to ask for the removal of groups, pages and accounts associated with review selling and other attempts to abuse our platform."

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