Fake product reviews under government's scanner, meeting with online shopping websites soon

There might have been instances where certain products on e-commerce websites have received only positive reviews. Some of these reviews might seem too good to be true, putting forward the question of whether these customer reviews are genuine. If you thought the same, you are not alone. The Consumer Affairs Ministry, along with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has taken notice and decided to hold a virtual meeting with stakeholders of e-commerce platforms.

During the meeting, the government bodies aim to discuss the magnitude of fake reviews on e-commerce websites. Consumer Affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh has written to major e-commerce companies, such as Flipkart, Amazon India, Tata Sons, Reliance Retail, etc. Consumer rights activists, lawyers, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), FICCI, consumer forums, etc., will also participate in the meeting.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the impact of fake reviews on e-commerce websites. The ministry also wants to prepare a roadmap along with the concerned parties to prevent fake product reviews on online shopping websites.

In his letter, Singh said that the scale of shopping on e-commerce platforms is increasing day by day and consumers rely heavily on reviews since it is not possible to physically view or examine a product when shopping online. Due to fake reviews, the right to be informed, which is a consumer right under the Consumer Protection Act 2019, is violated.

“As the issue impacts people shopping online daily and has a significant impact on their consumer rights, it is important that it is examined with greater scrutiny and detail,” the secretary added.

He further shared the European Commission's January 20, 2022 press release, which highlights the results of an EU-wide screening of consumer reviews across 223 websites. The results revealed that at least 55 per cent of the websites violated the EU’s unfair commercial practices directive, which requires correct information to be presented to consumers.

Out of the total of 223 websites, 144 could not confirm if traders were doing enough to ensure that the reviews were authentic