Meta quietly launched a “Brand Rights Protection” hub – here’s what you need to know

Yesterday, the headline of the Social Media Today email newsletter stopped me in my tracks: “Meta enhances protection for brand IP.”

Exsqueeze me?

Turns out, Meta very very quietly launched a thing called Brand Rights Protection last year.

I’ll be fully transparent: I live and breathe social media security every single day, and I had no idea this thing existed until yesterday. I’m guessing you had no idea either. Interestingly, when I did a Google search for information, it seems this announcement escaped the attention of pretty much every mainstream media outlet. I only find references to the launch on niche industry sites, random Reddit and Threads conversations, etc. All of this leads me to believe that maybe Meta “launched” it but really didn’t bother telling people it existed.

That said, according to Meta, they took down 157 million pieces of infringing content in 2024 – so someone is using it. (This statistic also highlights how insane this issue has become for brands as those were only the items taken down by Brand Rights Protection and does not count millions of additional items taken down via people submitting normal help requests.)

Fast forward to yesterday. So, upon learning that Brand Rights Protection is a thing, I of course went and did a bunch of research. Here’s what I’ve learned.

The basic idea is that Meta wants to make it easier for large brands and companies to work with Meta in taking down rogue pages, imposter accounts and other things that would infringe on a brand’s intellectual property. The highlights:

You can report infringing content across Meta platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Groups, Shops and ads.

It provides a more streamlined way to submit a takedown request.
It gives you metrics about your governance efforts.
It allows you to upload documentation images.
It keeps all your takedown requests in one place.

Important note: This is a feature that is not automatically available to everyone. You must apply to gain access to Brand Rights Protection. In order to qualify, you must:

Have a personal Facebook profile that is connected to your Meta Business Suite portfolio.
Your business must own an active trademark.
Your business must not have a history of intellectual property violations.
The person applying for access must be an employee of your brand or business.

As Serna Social meets all of those requirements, I went ahead and applied for my own business. I have not yet been approved, so I have not had a chance to look at this tool first hand. Once I get a chance to test drive it, I’ll probably have additional thoughts. But until then, here’s my initial take on this whole thing:

1. Credit where credit is due. Even though I am a born skeptic, I do want to applaud Meta for finally taking some sort of action to recognize that large companies and brands have an ongoing issue maintaining governance over their social media footprints. This is long overdue. It’s good to see Meta finally recognizing that need and attempting to do something about it. That said, after more than 15 years of working in the Meta business management realm, I have sincere doubts about whether this tool will be adequate for what businesses really need.

2. Centralized takedown request experience. Among the updates announced yesterday was a “simplified takedown request experience.” Basically, Meta has created a hub where people can track their takedown requests and manage them all in one place. It also means that people like me can stop submitting individual general help tickets and crossing their fingers that something happens.

I see this as one of the main benefits of this tool and probably the most exciting feature. We’ll see if it is in any way more effective, but man, if it works the way it works in my imagination, this could be a game changer for those of us who hack away at keyboards fighting with support. When you’re doing a big cleanup governance effort with a brand, it’s easy to have dozens of help tickets open at once. This could truly help a lot with that whole process… if it works.

3. It won’t help everyone. For large brands, this tool could be a game changer. And it’s the world’s largest brands that tend to have the largest governance issues. But if you run a smaller business, or your business has never bothered to register a trademark for your name, you are out of luck. You won’t be able to apply for access, and you’re still stuck doing it the old way. If you DO have a trademark, this could still help your business, even if it’s smaller.

4. I still spy issues. I will be the first person to offer criticism of Meta. When it comes to the way business pages are handled, it’s mind-numbingly stupid. I could fill a book with my feedback on this topic. But based on what I know for now – having not been able to access the tool myself yet – here are some big blind spots I still see:

One of my biggest gripes with the entire Meta universe is that a person’s access to their company’s properties is managed through that person’s individual personal Facebook profile. In other words, when I log into my personal Facebook, that unlocks access to my company’s page, Business Manager, ad accounts, etc. This means companies are only as safe as their employees’ personal Facebook passwords (hello, password123!). This new system is still provisioned using someone’s personal account, so this is a security feature is still inherently insecure because of the way users are provisioned. So Meta. *insert eye roll*
I don’t know if you are able to transfer control to another person or add additional admins. I am not a fan of things that only one person controls because it leads to governance issues, being locked out of accounts, etc. Additionally, when that person leaves the company, what happens? Does someone else have to apply fresh? Can they add additional people to the tool before they leave? What about external agency partners? And, with all of these questions comes the bottom line: This is yet another tool that social teams will have to administer. Yay.
What about companies with a bunch of brands, or companies with a bunch of Business Manager accounts? Do you have to apply per brand? Per business manager? What if you don’t even have a Business Manager set up yet? One of the underlying things here is that Meta is assuming you have all your stuff in one place already – and trust me, that is not true for most companies. When I worked it corporate, it took me TWO YEARS and a ton of effort to get everything for my global company rounded up into one consolidated Business Manager account. Does this system work if your landscape is still fragmented?
You have to apply. In my opinion, this should be an offering for all major companies. Most of them have a Meta account rep. Wouldn’t it make sense to have the reps tell the companies about this new feature and open access to them? Nope. In typical Meta fashion, you have to (1) know the thing exists and (2) apply for access.
Your records are living in the Meta universe. When it comes to governance, I’m a stickler for good recordkeeping, and I honestly don’t know if I trust Meta with my records. If you keep all of your governance efforts centralized in this tool, can you export? Is there a specific amount of time that records are kept? I have always favored keeping records outside of tools for these reasons, and I’m not sure I trust this solution to be my ongoing record of record if you will. Additionally, how will I share this information with Legal, Compliance, etc., if I can’t export or access my full archive? So many questions.

So, the jury is still out. It is absolutely good to see Meta begin to take social media governance more seriously. AND it is great to see Meta attempt to provide a solution geared toward businesses with multiple requests (vs. one-off requests submitted via the regular help desk). In my ideal dream world, this helps the person submitting requests do this faster and more efficiently while also reaching a team of specialists who know how to process these tickets better and faster (vs. the regular help desk ticket, which is like dropping your request into a black hole). At the very least, it prevents these folks from having to re-enter the trademark info with every single request.

But we’ll have to see. This solution still does not address the fragmented infrastructure most large companies have when it comes to their Meta properties. And it does nothing to help companies consolidate their footprint more easily or effectively. It’s my hope that eventually Meta opens this tool to anyone who wants it and continues to improve it into a robust governance tool. To me, it seems like a half a toe in the water, but half a toe is better than nothing. Time will tell.

IMPORTANT LINKS: