US ‘notorious markets’ report warns of risks from online pharmacies
BANGKOK– Nearly all of the world’s 35,000 online pharmacies are operated illegally, and consumers who use them are at risk of receiving ineffective or dangerous medications, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on “ infamous markets.” The report also cited 19 countries for concerns about counterfeit or pirated products.
The report also named about three dozen online retailers, many in China or elsewhere in Asia, as allegedly engaging in the sale of counterfeit products or other illegal activities.
According to the report, 96% of online pharmacies are breaking the law. Many operate without a license and sell drugs without prescriptions and safety warnings.
Their websites often look like legitimate e-commerce platforms, often with false claims that they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to the report released Wednesday. The FDA and USA Drug Enforcement Administration have both warned of the risks of purchasing prescription drugs from such sources.
It cited a survey by the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies’ Global Foundation, which found that nearly one in four Americans who have used online pharmacies reported encountering substandard, counterfeit or harmful medications.
Last year, federal prosecutors reported that a network of illegal drug sellers based in the US, the Dominican Republic and India had potentially deadly packaging synthetic opioids into pills disguised as regular prescription drugs and sold millions of them through fake online drugstores, federal prosecutors said Monday. At least nine people died from narcotics after consuming the counterfeit pills between August 2023 and June 2024, the indictment said.
Aside from the risks of using medications that may contain inert ingredients or could cause allergies, the medications are sometimes made under unsanitary conditions, said the report, which does not provide annual statistics on those who may have died or otherwise been harmed.
The USTR’s annual report cited examples from the United States, but also mentioned the risks of imported ingredients, including fentanyl from China. Many of the illegal online pharmacies are located outside the US
The ‘Notorious Markets List’ commended progress in the fight against counterfeit and pirated goods.
In one case, US authorities, industry associations and law enforcement worked together to shut down a piracy ring in Hanoi, Vietnam, Fmovies and other related piracy sites, in July and August.
According to the report, the then largest pirated film site in the world had attracted more than 6.7 billion visitors between January 2023 and June 2024.
In another Vietnam-related case, two people operating the pirate television platform BestBuyIPTV were ordered to pay fines and forfeit property.
The report also notes crackdowns on online piracy in Brazil and the United Kingdom and arrests of sellers of counterfeit wallets, clothing and shoes in Kuwait.
But problems remain with cyberlockers that thwart efforts to limit piracy of movies and other content, and with so-called “bulletproof” Internet service providers, or ISPs, that promise people who use them leeway to use pirate sites, the report said .
One of those internet providers is Avito, a Russia-based advertising platform that allegedly lets sellers advertise counterfeit products.
Baidu Wangpan, a cloud storage service from China’s largest search engine provider, Baiduwas cited for allegedly failing to enforce copyright protection or being slow to do so.
The report also pointed to a social commerce site Pinduoduo and to Douyin Mall, a Chinese online platform owned by Tiktok owner ByteDance. It says the shopping platforms have tried to build protection, but they still host many counterfeit goods.
It also mentioned Shopeea Singapore-based online and mobile e-commerce site, says some country-focused platforms serving Southeast Asia and South America have better anti-piracy records than others.
IndiaMART, a major business-to-business marketplace in India, continues to offer a range of counterfeit products, the report said.
While much of intellectual property theft occurs online, the report also highlights real-world locations notorious for selling counterfeit products, including markets in Turkey, bazaars in the United Arab Emirates and the Saigon Square shopping center in Vietnam city of Ho Chi Minh.
According to the report, Bangkok’s MBK Center, a huge shopping center with some 2,000 stores, has been actively cracking down on counterfeiting, although such products can still be found there.