If counterfeits of your products are being sold through Instagram, TikTok or TikTok Shop, the fastest first step is usually a documented IP notice to the platform, backed by a trade mark registered in the countries where the buyers are. When sellers come back, hide behind new accounts or move the sale to private messages, a counterfeits social media takedown is no longer enough: you need to identify them and act through the courts or customs. This guide is for brand owners selling in Europe, Latin America and Africa who see fakes of their products promoted on social networks.
Key takeaways
- In the EU, Instagram and TikTok are very large online platforms under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and must run notice and action systems that give your notice a reasoned decision.
- A notice works best with a registered right covering the buyers’ country, the exact URL and dated evidence.
- Integrated shops must collect and check traders’ identity and payment details, which helps when sellers return.
- When notices stop working, EU courts can order intermediaries to disclose the origin and distribution networks of the goods and can issue injunctions against them.
Why are social networks a channel for counterfeits?
Social networks combine reach, images and direct contact with buyers, which is what counterfeiters need. The EUIPO’s study Monitoring and analysing social media in relation to IP infringement (May 2021) mined public posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Reddit in six EU countries between April and September 2020. Of 3.9 million conversations about selected brands and products, 11% could possibly be related to counterfeits. Instagram had the highest volume of conversations about physical products, and the study noted that much of the trade may take place in private groups and direct messages it could not see.
Influencers add another layer. The EUIPO’s Influencers and IP study (10 November 2025) recalls that, in its 2022 Youth Scoreboard, 11% of young people cited recommendations from influencers or famous people as a reason for buying counterfeits. In the new survey of 300 influencers, 4-5% admitted promoting IP-infringing goods or content in the previous 12 months. The Commission’s Recommendation (EU) 2024/915 of 19 March 2024 asks social media providers to help trade mark holders fight the misuse of their marks in account names, private communications and closed groups.
How does a counterfeits social media takedown work under EU law?
The Commission designated Instagram and TikTok as very large online platforms on 25 April 2023. The DSA lists the sale of counterfeit products as an example of illegal content (recital 12) and gives brand owners these tools:
| Situation | Main tool | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Post, video, livestream or ad offering fakes | Notice and action (DSA, art. 16) | Give reasons and the exact URL; a precise notice can give the platform actual knowledge |
| Product in an integrated shop such as TikTok Shop | Notice plus trader traceability (art. 30) | The platform must hold verified identity, contact and payment details of the trader |
| Influencer promoting fakes | Notice and, where justified, a warning letter | Platforms must let users declare commercial content (art. 26(2)), which helps show a commercial link |
| Account name using your trade mark | Trade mark or impersonation report | Recommendation 2024/915 encourages verified accounts for trade mark holders |
| Notice rejected | Internal complaint (art. 20) | Free of charge, for at least six months after the decision |
| Same seller keeps returning | Repeat infringer policy (art. 23) | Suspension after a warning for frequent manifestly illegal content |
The seller also receives a statement of reasons when content is removed (art. 17), so expect some sellers to contest weak notices. Accredited trusted flaggers (art. 22) get priority handling, which matters for brands with high volumes.
How to act against counterfeits on Instagram and TikTok, step by step
- Check your rights. A trade mark is territorial: confirm you hold an EU trade mark or national registrations where the buyers are, and that the goods in the posts fall within the registered classes.
- Preserve evidence before reporting: screenshots showing the URL, date and price, recordings of livestreams, the seller’s profile and any links to external shops or messaging apps. A test purchase shows what is actually delivered and where it ships from.
- File one notice per item through the platform’s IP channel, with the registration details, the URLs and a brief explanation of why the product is counterfeit.
- Track every decision. Contest unjustified rejections through the internal complaint system and keep a log of repeat sellers.
- Escalate when the pattern continues: a warning letter to an identifiable seller, then court action. Under the Enforcement Directive (Directive 2004/48/EC), courts can order anyone providing on a commercial scale services used in infringing activities to give information on the origin and distribution networks of the goods (art. 8), and can grant interlocutory injunctions, including against intermediaries (art. 9).
- Block the goods at the border. If fakes ship from outside the EU, a customs application for action lets customs detain suspected consignments.
What this means for your business
- Map where the infringing accounts sell and where buyers are. A Spanish brand may face sellers in Latin America targeting European buyers, and the reverse; your registrations must match the buyers’ markets.
- Prioritise accounts that sell, not just those that post: integrated shops, links to external stores and invitations to message for prices.
- Build one evidence file across platforms and languages, so notices, warning letters and court applications tell the same story.
- Agree internally on thresholds: when a notice is enough, when a warning letter is justified and when to go to court or customs.
If fakes are appearing on several platforms and in several countries, our IP enforcement team for online counterfeits can run notices, escalations and court steps as one programme. Where your marks are not yet registered in the relevant markets, our trademark registration service across Europe, Latin America and Africa closes the gap.
Where brand owners get social media enforcement wrong
- Reporting without registered rights in the right country. A notice based on a registration elsewhere is easy for the platform or the seller to reject.
- Deleting the evidence trail. Once a post is removed, you cannot screenshot it; capture first, report second.
- Over-reporting. Notices against genuine second-hand goods, parallel imports or legitimate comparisons can be rejected, and frequent manifestly unfounded notices can lead a platform to suspend their processing (art. 23).
- Ignoring the private channel. When the post only says “message me”, the sale is happening elsewhere; a test purchase and court-ordered information are often the only way to reach the seller.
- Treating each platform as a separate problem, while the same network operates on all of them.
Frequently asked questions
Can I report counterfeits on Instagram or TikTok without a registered trade mark?
You can report, but your position is much weaker. Platforms assess IP notices against the rights you identify, and a trade mark registered in the countries where the buyers are is the clearest basis. Unregistered rights, such as copyright in product photos or designs, can sometimes help, but registration is the reliable foundation.
What can I do if the seller only sells through private messages?
Notices can only target public content such as the post or profile that invites contact. For the sale itself, make a documented test purchase and preserve the messages. If the seller cannot be identified, EU courts can order those providing services used in the infringement on a commercial scale to disclose information on the origin and distribution of the goods.
What if the same seller keeps coming back with new accounts?
Keep a log linking the accounts through names, images, phone numbers and payment details. Platforms must suspend users who frequently provide manifestly illegal content, and marketplaces must verify traders’ identity. When this does not stop the seller, a court injunction against the infringer or an intermediary is the next step.
Can IP Global Guard handle social media takedowns and follow-up action for us?
Yes. We check that your rights cover the relevant markets, prepare and file notices, manage complaints and repeat sellers, and coordinate warning letters, court action and customs applications with qualified local counsel in Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one point of contact and one evidence file.
How IP Global Guard can help you stop counterfeits on social media
Social media counterfeiting is rarely a single post; it is a network that moves between accounts, platforms and countries. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, brings rights, evidence, platform notices and legal action together across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one strategy and one billing relationship.
Send us links to the accounts or listings that worry you and tell us where your marks are registered. We will check the rights, tell you which takedown and escalation route fits and coordinate the work. Share the links with our enforcement team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not replace an assessment of your specific case.
Sources
- EUIPO, Monitoring and analysing social media in relation to IP infringement (7 May 2021)
- EUIPO, Influencers and IP (10 November 2025)
- EUR-Lex, Commission Recommendation (EU) 2024/915 on measures to combat counterfeiting (19 March 2024)
- European Commission, first designation of very large online platforms, IP/23/2413 (25 April 2023)
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services Act (19 October 2022)
- EUR-Lex, Directive 2004/48/EC on the enforcement of IP rights (29 April 2004)
