Ask Rocio: when will regulators take action against fake reviews?

“Dear Rocio,

My business works hard to get good reviews and relies on it to get more customers, but we constantly see our competitors getting fake, inflated reviews that we suspect are fake. Is the government doing anything to stop this and other similar practices?“

given name and address.

Reviews are an extremely important tool when choosing a new product or service. Smaller companies, in particular, know the value of good rankings in building their brand. Positive reviews on sites like Amazon, Google, and Tripadvisor can influence customer buying decisions, build loyal audiences, and ultimately make or break a business.

However, it is awfully easy for unscrupulous traders to cheat the system by writing or buying rave reviews, artificially inflating its quality, or using bad reviews to hurt a competitor. Nowadays, in most cases, technology companies are not legally responsible for preventing these practices from appearing on their websites, so they continue to thrive.

Which? Research has shown how easy it is for real estate agents to infiltrate sites like Facebook, Google and Trustpilot that sell positive reviews for as little as £4 on restaurants and shops, rental companies and even dentists. At Amazon, we’ve also found that reviews can be “repurposed” – in some cases for products that are completely unrelated. As a result, honest businesses lose business and stifle competition.

But fake reviews aren’t the only online business practices that result in bad deals for businesses and consumers. Subscription pitfalls, where companies make it difficult to cancel a contract, and irregular pricing, where customers see only one price up front and face additional fees later in the buying process, also need to be addressed.

Encouragingly, the government has announced its intention to give the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) greater authority to deal with these issues. These include, of course, it is illegal to pay someone to write or post a fake review without taking steps to verify its authenticity, as well as the right to impose fines on companies that are in direct violation of the rules. Subscription pitfalls are eliminated by ensuring that companies provide customers with more accurate information prior to subscribing and ensuring that free trials or low-cost introductory offers end before auto-renewal.

This is a step in the right direction. Our consumer protection and competition laws are in dire need of an update. Tech giants should be held legally responsible for removing fraudulent content from their websites, while regulators from the CMA to the Civil Aviation Authority need real teeth when it comes to fraudulent airlines to crack down on companies that break the rules. The ability to fine companies and demand compensation from them acts as a powerful deterrent and avoids lengthy lawsuits.

The example of the CMA threatening legal action against online ticket seller Viagogo illustrates the difficulty regulators have in securing consumer fairness following a flood of complaints about ticket resale at inflated prices without warning of the risks. But it took nearly six years and threats of lawsuits from the courts for Viagogo to finally change its practices. A regulator with the power to impose fines does so much more quickly, increasing consumer confidence and enabling faster decision making if similar actions occur in the future.

The government recently announced its intention to pass a law on digital markets, consumers and competition, which will provide regulators with the necessary tools. Which? has been pushing for new laws for consumer protection and fair business for years, but the current cost-of-living crisis makes stricter rules even more important. Consumers need to know that their hard-earned money is not being wasted on substandard goods and services. And honest companies need to know that they are competing on an equal footing.

Rocio Concha is the director of policy and advocacy in which?