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Google and Microsoft will help Obama fight illegal online pharmacies
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
Google and Microsoft have agreed to help the administration of US President Barack Obama create a non-profit organization to combat illegal online pharmacies, Bloomberg reports, citing the Office of Management and Budget under the US President. According to estimates by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, one to two percent of drugs sold in North America are counterfeit. The global turnover of counterfeit drugs is about 75 billion dollars. A significant part of them is sold online. Law enforcement agencies regularly seize large batches of active substances produced in Pakistan, India, Columbia and China, intended for packaging and sale in online pharmacies. The group created by the Obama administration with the participation of Google and Microsoft includes Internet companies that are key hubs for advertising, product searches and transactions on the Internet: Yahoo!, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, GoDaddy.com, Neustar, eNom and Paypal. It was to them that the White House turned with a request to take measures to identify online sellers of counterfeit drugs, explained Victoria Espinel, the presidential administration's coordinator for intellectual property protection.
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