LONDON (AP) — Britain's competition watchdog said Wednesday that Facebook and eBay pledged to crack down on the trade in fake reviews, removing hundreds of accounts, pages and groups involved in the illicit business after the regulator warned them.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the two U.S. tech companies agreed to step up efforts to detect, investigate and respond to fake and misleading reviews after it ordered them last year to address the problem.

Facebook removed 188 pages and groups and disabled 24 accounts that were involved in the fake review trade, some on its Instagram pl...