Thread by @MarceloLima

This WSJ and @JoannaStern investigation into Amazon's counterfeit problem is great and very important. The solutions presented--Googling products, buying from brands, etc--are not. They are very hard to implement by consumers, don't scale, and ultimately won't solve the problem

Exhibit A: in the WSJ video, you can see a real and counterfeit product; he points out the packaging is indistinguishable. Kids are getting the fake toys and being exposed to 5x the amount of lead the government mandates, and other really bad stuff

How do we solve the problem?
- Require third party sellers to have their products tested in a U.S. government lab
- The lab issues an encrypted certificate that can't be spoofed or forged
- The certificate is recorded on a public blockchain for immutability

- The seller includes a digital key on its packaging (QR code)
- At the Amazon fulfillment center, scanners verify the key against the blockchain, ensuring the product meets U.S. government standards and lab results are positive
- Only certified products are sent to customers

- This introduces a lot of friction for sellers, but it's the cost of doing business
- Amazon customers want vast selection--yes--but they also want TRUST. It's better to have 1/3 the selection you can trust than 3x the number of goods you can't

cc @Amazon, @JeffBezos 👆🏻

Here are the WSJ pieces:
wsj.com/articles/amazo…

wsj.com/articles/amazo…

I literally came up with this idea seconds after reading the piece, so it's probably full of holes, but seems plausible to me.

Amazon two-pizza teams FTW! Get on it.