Amazon agrees to tackle fake reviews in UK: regulator

Amazon has agreed to clamp down on fake online reviews of products advertised on its UK site, Britain's competition regulator said Friday.

Google agreed a similar UK commitment in January after the Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into the matter five years ago.

Amazon "has signed undertakings committing to enhance its existing systems for tackling fake reviews and catalogue abuse", the CMA said in a statement Friday.

"Catalogue abuse involves sellers hijacking the reviews of well-performing products and adding them to an entirely separate and different product to falsely boost its star rating", the regulator noted.

The CMA said "Amazon has committed to tough sanctions for businesses that boost their star ratings", which could see them banned from its UK site.

The regulator said that around 90 percent of UK consumers use online reviews when deciding on a purchase.

It added "that as much as £23 billion ($31 billion) of UK consumer spending is potentially influenced by online reviews annually".

"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," CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said in Friday's statement.

"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."

The CMA in May 2020 opened an investigation into "several major websites" that display online reviews, which led to the opening of a formal probe into Amazon and Google 13 months later.

"The undertakings from Amazon and Google, alongside our recently published advice to review platforms, paint a clear picture of what the law requires from businesses," Cardell said.

"Following this, we're now launching the next phase of our work. This will scrutinise whether review platforms, businesses who list products on them, and reviewers themselves, are complying with the strengthened laws around fake reviews."

Source: AFP