Coronaviruses and online scams: the European Union asks Amazon, Google, Facebook for stricter countermeasures

Europe has made a formal request to the big giants of the network and technology to undertake stricter countermeasures against scams that exploit the emotion linked to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders sent a letter to Facebook, Google, Amazon and other digital platforms claiming that European consumer protection authorities are currently on “high alert” to try to coordinate actions across the continent.

“Following the recent spread of the new coronavirus, a increase in deceptive Internet marketing techniques to leverage consumer fearsi for the purpose of selling products, such as protective masks, disinfectants or other substances, falsely claiming that they can prevent or treat a COVID-19 infection. At the same time, some merchants are trying to attract consumers to buy these products at exorbitant prices, playing on fears that may cease to be available, “writes Reynders.

The battle against online scams is the latest sign of the complex role that digital services are playing at this stage – a role that perhaps they never imagined having to play. The progressive isolation of individuals and families increases the use of the net for information, training, purchases and socializing. A dynamic that has created some unexpected consequences and generated new concerns such as the risk to which employees of sorting and delivery centers are exposed or the impact on the entire Internet infrastructure.

It is an ideal climate for scammers who by exploiting people’s emotional levers can have an easy game to take advantage of their victims. With his letter Reynders wanted to remind the various platforms that European law requires them to take “appropriate corrective measures if they are aware of any illegal activity taking place on their websites”.

Reynders asked the platforms to provide clear contact information to allow for rapid reporting of any problem, then giving time until March 27 to provide detailed explanations of the actions they are taking to combat COVID-19-related fraud.