Facebook has made $2bn from busting spammers

SOCIAL NETWORK Facebook has blogged about its efforts to create a user friendly network that is not blighted by spam.

It is a dream we all have, but it is a dream that is making Facebook some $2bn, according to a post on the network's pages.

The firm is concerned about spam and the use of fake Likes, which is a means of suggesting that people like the idea of something that they have seen on Facebook.

Likes, which are bandied about on its pages, are used to express interest in something, and for obvious reasons are much in demand from marketers, legitimate or otherwise.

While some firms will play the Facebook promotion and advertising game in a way that Zuckerberg's outfit likes, not all are interested in taking part.

'Most people rarely come into contact with spam or other low quality content on Facebook, but we're constantly working to make our service even better,' it said.

'It's important to remember that fraudulent activity is bad for everyone, including page owners, advertisers, Facebook, and people on our platform.

'We adapt our defences constantly to stay ahead of spammers' techniques, and one area we've focused on for several years is fake Likes.

'We have a strong incentive to aggressively get rid of fake Likes because businesses and people who use our platform want real connections and results, not fakes.

'Businesses won't achieve results and could end up doing less business on Facebook if the people they're connected to aren't real. It's in our best interest to make sure that interactions are authentic.'

These 'Like' spammers sell their services and make their own money from Facebook, and Facebook is not having that. The firm said that it uses technology to thwart the practice at source and employs an abuse detection team to keep an eye on things.

As well as this the firm waves around the threat of legal action and reparations. The blog post said that Facebook has pulled some $2bn from spammers in legal fines. These fines are backed with other technical measures.

'We pursue other methods to make spamming less profitable. We have obtained nearly $2bn in legal judgements against spammers, and we utilise these channels when possible to remind would-be offenders that we will fight back to prevent abuse on our platform,' it added.

'We also limit Likes per account to make spammers' operations less efficient. When Like activity gets unusually high, we take additional steps to make sure the Likes are legitimate, such as asking for additional verification.' µ