Facebook was urged in June by the Competition and Markets Authority to probe the sale of fake reviews via these groups. Which? claimed to have uncovered several active groups that recruited people to write fake testimonies. Facebook said it had removed almost all the groups reported to it and was still investigating the issue.
For its investigation, Which? said it joined 10 separate Facebook groups looking for recruits. In a 30-day period, it said, recruiters added more than 55,000 posts to the groups that offered free products to people who wrote highly-rated reviews on Amazon.
"It is deeply concerning that [Facebook] continues to leave customers exposed to poor quality or unsafe products boosted by misleading and disingenuous reviews," said Natalie Hitchins, head of products at Which? Ms Hitchins said Facebook had to take more action against any group it was told about and be more "proactive" about finding other groups and closing them down. It said the CMA should consider "enforcement action" to make Facebook act.
