Executive Summary

Counterfeiting, private messaging, imposter accounts, deepfakes and influencer misuse pose some of the greatest threats to brand owners on social media.
National and international legislature is evolving to hold social commerce platforms to greater account for counterfeiting and other forms of infringement online. But developments are slow and varied, with some arguing that legislation is not the best course of action.
Brand owners must monitor both international and local social media platforms, familiarising themselves with the brand protection programmes that each currently offers, as collaboration will inform platform tools to proactively identify issues and, in turn, enable brand professionals to leverage platform data to better enforce against infringement.
The social media landscape is not all danger and turmoil. Popular and emerging platforms offer new opportunities for brand professionals to engage with other business functions to educate consumers, reach untapped audiences, spread the IP message and mitigate damage during a crisis.