One of the unique differentiators that has made Facebook the most popular social networking tool in existence is the ability to “like” the pages of public figures such as musicians and actors, or those of TV shows, movies and sporting teams.

However, a good number of these likes may not be valid at all, as Facebook had finally realized late last week. Last Friday, Facebook had made the first moves in removing any page likes that may not be considered legitimate, a violation of the site’s terms and conditions.

In an official statement, Facebook said that it has “not and have never permitted the purchase or sale of Facebook Likes as we only want people connecting to the Pages and brands with whom they have chosen to connect.”

The site was referring to companies that make use of malware and other unscrupulous means to generate additional likes for fan pages – Facebook has long been emphasizing its being a site where real people connect with each other in the most realistic Internet-based way possible. However, approximately 5 to 6 percent of Facebook’s users are estimated to be fake, a number estimated at 54 million.

A large percentage of the fraudulent page likes and fake profiles have been traced to the Philippines and Egypt, according to a recent investigation by BBC. With the newly-implemented crackdown on fake likes and fake profiles, it is hoped that Facebook will become a safer, more legitimate site for its millions of users.