Businesses are paying people to write positive online reviews and endorsements, the UK’s competition regulator has found.
In a report released today, The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has been alerted to cases of companies in the UK paying for positive reviews, preventing negative reviews from being published, and paying for endorsements in blogs and vlogs.
The CMA announced an investigation into a number of companies connected to false online reviews. It has not named those companies. Ut has also requested industry and consumer input on the issue in February this year and today, along with the release of its findings, it
Senior director of consumer enforcement for the CMA, Nisha Arora, said in a statement that the integrity of online reviews are important, as millions of people peruse them before making purchasing decisions.
“We have found that consumers who use online reviews and endorsements find them valuable, but we have also heard about some practices that may be unlawful,” she said.
“We are committed to ensuring that consumers’ trust in these important information tools is maintained, and will take enforcement action where necessary to tackle unlawful practices.”
The report found 54 per cent of British adults read online reviews and six per cent use blogs or vlogs before making a purchase.
“Across the six broad sectors that we looked at, we estimate that £23 billion a year of UK consumer spending is potentially influenced by online reviews,” it said.
The CMA supplied a list of recommendations for businesses to ensure they are complying with their legal obligations. It says companies should not write fake reviews about their own or other businesses’ products, and that they should ensure advertising and promotions are identifiable to readers as paid-for content.
It said review sites should be clear about how their reviews are collected and checked, publish all reviews, including negative ones, make sure the publication of reviews is not unnecessarily delayed, disclose any commercial relationships or partnerships with other businesses, and implement procedures to detect and remove any fake reviews.
The CMA has also proposed a project on online reviews and endorsements that it will bring before the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) – an organisation comprised of consumer protection authorities from more than 50 countries – which it will assume presidency of from July.
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