US ‘Notorious Markets’ Report Warns of Risks of Online Pharmacies

BANGKOK– Nearly all of the world’s 35,000 online pharmacies operate illegally, and consumers who use them risk obtaining ineffective or dangerous medications, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on ” notorious markets.” The report also highlighted 19 countries for concerns about counterfeit or pirated products.

The report also names about three dozen online retailers, many of them in China or elsewhere in Asia, that are allegedly engaged in the sale of counterfeit goods or other illegal activities.

The report says 96% of online pharmacies were found to be violating the law, with many operating without a license and selling medications without prescriptions or 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. He FDA and United States Drug Enforcement Administration Both have issued warnings about the risks of purchasing prescription drugs from such sources.

He cited a survey by the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies Global Foundation that found 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 packaged potentially deadly products synthetic opioids into pills disguised as common prescription drugs and sold millions of them through fake online pharmacies, federal prosecutors said Monday. At least nine people died from narcotic poisoning between August 2023 and June 2024 after consuming counterfeit pills, according to the indictment.

Aside from the risks of using drugs that may contain inert ingredients or that could cause allergies, drugs are sometimes manufactured in unsanitary conditions, says the report, which does not provide annual statistics on those who may have died or been harmed.

The USTR annual report cited examples from within the United States, but also mentioned the risks of imported ingredients, including fentanyl, from China. Many of the illicit online pharmacies are based outside the US.

The “Notorious Markets List” praised progress in the fight against counterfeit and pirated products.

In one case, U.S. authorities, industry groups, and police collaborated to shut down a Hanoi, Vietnam-based piracy network, Fmovies, and other related piracy sites in July and August.

The report said that the world’s largest pirated movie site at the time had attracted more than 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 and June 2024.

In another case related to Vietnam, two people who operated the pirate television platform BestBuyIPTV were convicted and ordered to pay fines and confiscate property.

The report also cited crackdowns on online piracy in Brazil and the United Kingdom and raids on sellers of counterfeit handbags, clothing and shoes in Kuwait.

But problems remain with cyberlockers thwarting efforts to restrict piracy of movies and other content and with so-called “bulletproof” Internet service providers, or ISPs, promising people who use them freedom of action. to use pirate sites, he said.

One such ISP is Avito, a Russia-based advertising platform that allegedly allows sellers to advertise counterfeit products.

Baidu Wangpan, a cloud storage service from China’s largest search engine provider, Baiduwas named for allegedly failing to enforce or acting slowly on copyright protection.

The report also noted social commerce site Pinduoduo and Douyin Mall, a Chinese online platform owned by tik tok owner ByteDance. He said shopping platforms have tried to create protections, but they still host many counterfeit products.

He also named storea Singapore-based online and mobile e-commerce site, said some country-focused platforms serving Southeast Asia and South America had better track records in combating piracy than others.

IndiaMART, a large business-to-business marketplace in India, still offers a large number of counterfeit products, he said.

While much of the intellectual property theft has taken place online, the report also highlighted real-world locations known for selling counterfeit goods, including markets in Turkey, bazaars in the United Arab Emirates and the Saigon Square shopping center in the city. Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam.

The report said Bangkok’s MBK Center, a huge shopping center with some 2,000 stores, had cracked down on counterfeiting, although such products can still be found there.