Anatel bets on AI to hunt down illegal products in e-commerce

Anatel is diving headfirst into the world of artificial intelligence to combat a problem that has already become a headache: the sale of unapproved telecommunications products in e-commerce. The idea is to use an AI tool to monitor ads on online platforms and identify those offering products without the proper certification. Secundino da Costa Lemos, advisor to Anatel's Certification and Numbering Management, spoke about this during the 29th Forum on Certification of Telecommunications Products.

This tool will screen the advertisements, checking the approval number and the global product code. In addition, it will analyze photos, the advertiser's tax IDs (CNPJ or CPF), supplier and manufacturer data, and even customer comments on social media. All of this to find out if the product has the seal of approval to be sold in Brazil. Lemos explained that the software will perform data scraping on the main e-commerce platforms, where 80% to 90% of transactions occur. He did not give an exact date for the tool to go live, but assured that development is in full swing.

Most irregular products come from abroad, especially Paraguay. Therefore, Anatel believes that a technological solution using machine learning and AI is essential to separate the wheat from the chaff and inform the consumer about what is happening in the internal market. But this is not the agency's only card up its sleeve. They are also working on other fronts to curb the trade of irregular products in the digital environment.

One of the projects is to create a unified database of authorized suppliers and certified products. This way, platforms can consult this information before releasing ads. Another idea is to create a ranking of e-commerce platforms to help consumers know who they can trust. There are also plans to publish blacklists and whitelists of telecommunications product suppliers, taking product compliance into account. Anatel is really taking this issue seriously and using technology to its advantage to ensure only regulated products reach the consumer.