By Jaime Llinares Taboada

Facebook Inc. is tackling the trading of fake reviews on its social platforms, with measures including the removal of 16,000 groups dealing in those reviews, following a probe by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority.

The British regulator said Friday that Facebook has taken actions to make it harder for people to find groups and profiles that buy and sell fake reviews, and has introduced new processes to detect and remove this content.

A recent investigation from the CMA found illegal trade in fake reviews was still taking place despite Facebook having committed in 2020 to remove groups engaging in such activities and prevent them from reappearing.

"Facebook has a duty to do all it can to stop the trading of such content on its platforms. After we intervened again, the company made significant changes--but it is disappointing it has taken them over a year to fix these issues," CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said.

Write to Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com; @JaimeLlinaresT

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-09-21 0608ET