Douyin in, WeChat out of latest U.S. ‘Notorious Markets’ piracy list

Chinese companies continued to dominate the annual U.S. list of online and offline marketplaces with high trading in counterfeit goods

By Teri Yu

Douyin Mall, the e-commerce arm of Chinese short video platform Douyin, the Chinese edition of Tiktok, was added to an annual U.S. list naming and shaming global marketplaces with high trafficking in pirated goods. At the same time, internet giant Tencent’s (0700.HK) popular WeChat social messaging app was removed from the annual “Notorious Markets” list published on Wednesday, ending a brief run that began with its inclusion in 2022.

While Tencent was removed, the latest edition of the list also included marketplaces operated by other major Chinese internet companies, such as Alibaba (BABA.US; 9988.HK), Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK) and Pinduoduo (PDD.US).

Issued by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the 2024 Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy List named 38 online and 33 physical marketplaces engaged in or facilitating activities that infringe on intellectual property and copyrights. The USTR first started publishing the list in 2006.

Inclusion on the list is mostly an embarrassment for the companies whose names appear, with no practical consequences for most. The USTR said the list’s publication aims to protect American businesses and workers from the effects of cheap counterfeit goods, which are typically manufactured outside the U.S.

“Counterfeiting and piracy is a shared global concern, harming people not just in the United States but also other countries,” said USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai. “I urge our trading partners to join with us on the fight against counterfeits and pirated goods.” 

In addition to Douyin Mall, owned by China’s ByteDance, Alibaba’s Taobao, China’s largest e-commerce platform was also on the latest list, and has been included multiple times since its inception. The newer Pinduoduo, another popular Chinese social commerce platform, was also included this year, and has been named every year since 2019. Baidu’s Wangpan cloud storage service also remained on the list.

The 2024 list also included seven physical markets in China where trading in counterfeit goods was substantial.

The report said that while Chinese platforms often claim to have measures in place to combat counterfeiting, these efforts are often deemed inadequate by rights holders. For instance, Taobao has collaborated with intellectual property owners to improve its anti-counterfeiting efforts. But concerns persist that Alibaba’s recent reorganization has reduced resources for fighting counterfeit goods, allowing a significant number of pirated products to remain on the site.

Ongoing trade disputes between China and the U.S. have intensified tensions over intellectual property, tariffs and technology. The Notorious Markets List is perceived by many as a tool by the U.S. to express broader frustrations with China’s trade practices and to pressure China into improving its enforcement measures against counterfeiting and piracy.

Chinese companies have historically taken the list seriously, as inclusion can damage reputations and affect business operations. However, recent geopolitical tensions have led to scepticism about the list’s motivations, with many perceiving it as politically driven amid broader U.S.-China trade disputes. Sentiment is growing among Chinese firms that these actions may reflect U.S. efforts to undermine their competitiveness rather than genuine concerns about intellectual property violations.

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