Big data assists in fighting knockoffs

E-commerce powerhouse Alibaba said big data technologies have helped it detect more than 61,000 individuals or groups suspected of operating shops that sell counterfeit goods on Taobao, its online shopping portal.

In addition, it has detected 1,640 factories that produce fake goods and supply them to online dealers, Zheng Junfang, Alibaba's chief platform governance officer, said at a media briefing on Wednesday.

These findings were based on the investigating, or "digging", of more than 180,000 stores on Taobao, which were found by Alibaba to have sold counterfeit items. These stores were closed from March last year to February.