The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has already signed agreements with Google and recently published guidelines to help businesses comply with rules on reviews. It said it is now actively looking at all review platforms to ensure customers can trust the reviews they receive.
Fake online reviews are now explicitly banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA).
As well as fake reviews, the CMA said it was tackling ‘catalogue abuse’, where a seller uses the five-star reviews of one product and attaches them to a separate product to falsely boost star ratings and mislead consumers.
“In practice, this could mean a consumer thinks they have found a pair of five-star headphones, but on closer inspection, the majority of reviews are about a mobile phone charger,” the CMA said.
Amazon’s undertakings
The CMA said Amazon has agreed to ban businesses that take part in ‘catalogue abuse’ from the website.
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Sanctions will also be applied to users who post fake reviews, who could be banned from posting reviews altogether. This is a similar approach to that taken by Google, which earlier this year agreed to sanction those who post fake reviews.
Amazon has also agreed to make it easier for those who spot fake reviews to report them.
The undertakings come after the CMA launched an investigation into Amazon over concerns that the company was breaching consumer law by failing to take adequate action to protect people from fake reviews.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said tackling fake reviews was important, as around 90% of consumers use reviews when making purchasing decisions, and the CMA has estimated that as much as £23bn of UK consumer spending is potentially influenced by online reviews annually.
She said: “So many people use Amazon, from buying a new bike lock to finding the best coffee machine – and what’s clear is that star ratings and reviews have a huge impact on their choices.
“That’s why these new commitments matter and help set the standard. They mean people can make decisions with greater confidence – knowing that those who seek to pull the wool over their eyes will be swiftly dealt with.”
A new phase for reviews
Cardell added that the organisation’s action on reviews was now moving into a new phase, where the authority will look at whether review platforms, businesses who list products on them, and reviewers themselves are complying with the strengthened laws around fake reviews – and whether further action will be needed to see real change for shoppers.
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