Facebook and Instagram are suing four companies and three people in China for creating and promoting the sale of fake accounts, likes and followers on the social networks.

The lawsuit, which was filed in US federal court, alleges that the companies and people violated US intellectual property law by illegally using Facebook and Instagram's trademark and brand, Facebook said. 

"By filing the lawsuit, we hope to reinforce that this kind of fraudulent activity is not tolerated – and that we'll act forcefully to protect the integrity of our platform," said Paul Grewal, Facebook's vice president and deputy general counsel of litigation in a blog post on Friday. 

Facebook didn't name the companies or people it's suing, but said they also promoted fake accounts on Apple, Amazon, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter as well.

Social media companies have been under mounting pressure to do more to combat misinformation on their platforms after the 2016 US presidential election. 

Facebook didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

CNET

BDST: 2107 HRS, MAR 2, 2019
SI