Technology

UK regulator opens formal probe into Amazon, Google over fake reviews

Watchdog will examine whether firms have broken consumer laws

Fri Jun 25 2021 - 07:56

Britain's competition regulator on Friday opened a formal investigation into Amazon and Google over concerns the tech giants have not done enough to combat fake reviews on their sites.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will now gather further information to determine whether the firms may have broken consumer law by taking insufficient action to protect shoppers from fake reviews.

The move comes after an initial CMA investigation, which opened in May 2020, and assessed several internal systems and processes for identifying and dealing with fake reviews.

The regulator said it was also concerned that Amazon's systems had failed adequately to prevent and deter some sellers from manipulating product listings, through for example co-opting positive reviews from other products. "Our worry is that millions of online shoppers could be misled by reading fake reviews and then spending their money based on those recommendations," said CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli.

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“Equally, it’s simply not fair if some businesses can fake 5-star reviews to give their products or services the most prominence, while law-abiding businesses lose out.”

A spokesperson for Amazon said, “To help earn the trust of customers, we devote significant resources to preventing fake or incentivized reviews from appearing in our store. We work hard to ensure that reviews accurately reflect the experience that customers have had with a product. We will continue to assist the CMA with its enquiries and we note its confirmation that no findings have been made against our business. We are relentless in protecting our store and will take action to stop fake reviews regardless of the size or location of those who attempt this abuse.” – Reuters

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