Prada sunglasses, a Jacquemus bag, another bag by Yves Saint-Laurent, New Balance and Adidas Samba sneakers...
a young man shows off his latest purchases, carrying out a classic unboxing as he tells the camera about the quality, packaging and even the scent of each item. Behind him are shelves full of designer bags and sneakers. In the comments, his followers ask for “the links” to purchase their own bounty.
But this is no influencer living in the lap of luxury ; rather, he is a savvy expert with ties to an app specializing in counterfeit consumer goods. He is one of many such vendors who populate TikTok, and whose videos, on occasion, can reach a half-million views. Last year, as found by a study carried out by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), European companies lost $54 billion and failed to produce some 416,000 jobs due to such enterprises.
Fashion and perfume head the list of objects that are most often falsified. The rise of digital ultra-fast fashion companies like Shein and Temu have attracted some young people to the game of so-called “hauls,” huge orders of very cheap clothing that is usually worn once and then resold on platforms like Vinted or returned. Given the uptick of this consumption model, it was only a matter of time before digital trade in counterfeit brands proliferated.
“The rise of these applications in the wake of the Covid pandemic is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes. The economic crisis has driven consumers .