The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved new rules in a bid to combat fake consumer and celebrity reviews on websites and marketplaces, which were approved by a landslide during a meeting, writes EngadgetThe rules will come into force in 60 days.
Image source: FTC
The FTC’s new rules ban the buying and selling of fake consumer reviews, including marketplaces using AI-generated consumer and celebrity reviews of products or services. They also prohibit “providing compensation or other incentives conditioned on the writing of opinionated consumer reviews, either positive or negative.” They also prohibit “companies from misrepresenting that a website or organization they control provides independent reviews or opinions” of products or services. Violating the new rules carries a fine of up to $50,000.
The FTC formally announced plans to seek new rules to curb such practices last October. The commission has been fighting fake reviews for years. In 2019, the FTC fined Amazon seller Cure Encapsulations $12.8 million for paying for fake reviews of its weight-loss products on the website amazonvierifiedreviews.com.
The FTC also investigated supplement maker The Bountiful Company for posting reviews and ratings of its products on Amazon, which resulted in a $600,000 fine, and for having employees of skin-care maker Sunday Riley create fake online reviews at its direction.
It’s not just the government that’s cracking down on fake reviews and feedback. For example, the service recommendation site Yelp has created a database of companies that have been warned for posting or buying fake reviews.
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