Amazon has vowed to fight fake reviews in the United Kingdom. This is due to a watchdog releasing a report. The Competition and Markets Authority, which began looking at the issue of fake reviews on major platforms two years ago, will now consider whether Amazon and Google have broken consumer law by not taking sufficient action to protect shoppers from fake reviews. This comes at a good time, since about 90% of UK shoppers rely on reviews before they buy something.
Amazon has committed to strengthening existing systems that detect fake reviews and to stamping out “catalogue abuse”. This is where sellers take the reviews of well-performing products and add them to an entirely separate and different product, falsely boosting its star rating. Typically, this occurs for several reasons. A company might buy another company, with the express reason to replace an existing product with a new one. In other cases, the company might examine products with numerous reviews and replace them with another product. This is why, when reading reviews, it’s essential to look closely and consider the product being reviewed.
Businesses selling on Amazon face the risk of sanctions being imposed for catalogue abuse or for using fake reviews to boost product ratings. They could be banned from selling on the site altogether. Users who post fake reviews, whether positive or negative, also risk being banned and having all their previous reviews deleted. The retailer will also make it easier for shoppers to report fake posts. However, they have not made it clear what exactly they intend to do and when it will become a reality.
Under a new regulatory regime brought in under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the Competition and Markets Authority can now decide independently whether consumer law has been infringed, rather than going through the courts. This will make it easier to force companies to combat fake reviews.
Amazon said it had already devoted significant resources to eliminating fake reviews, and its efforts involved expert human investigators and machine learning models capable of analyzing thousands of data points. In 2024, it blocked 275 million fake reviews and stated, “More than 99% of all products in our store contain only authentic reviews.” A spokesperson added: “We also suspend, ban, and take legal action against those who violate our policies and have teams dedicated to taking action against bad actors that attempt to solicit fake reviews for products.”
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.