Across the internet, criminal enterprises build networks to sell illegal goods and services, including restricted and prescription drugs. While Section 230 and the EU’s eCommerce Directive had provided liability exemptions for those platforms exploited in this illegal trade, regulations are changing. Taking the fight against drug dealing enterprises, the UK is preparing its groundbreaking Online Safety Bill that will require online platforms to take proactive steps against the promotional activity, as well as identify and block repeated account creation. The question is how to detect this harmful activity.
In this ActiveFence case study, we demonstrate how we reverse engineer illegal goods networks to locate all connected entities across a wide range of platform types and exploited companies.