False Internet product reviews – Polish and EU law
Consumer opinions on a given product or service are a significant influence on sales on the Internet. Therefore, they should be as true and reliable as possible. This is to be helped by a new EU directive which expressly prohibits the posting of false opinions and paying for them, as well as misleading mechanisms for verifying the veracity of opinions.
UK Competition Authority (CMA)
In early January 2020, the CMA announced that as a result of the ongoing investigation, Facebook and eBay had formally committed to tackling the widespread trade in false and misleading product reviews on these platforms. In response to the authority’s concerns, the platforms have removed hundreds of such profiles and committed to putting in place mechanisms to prevent the offering and sale of such services. This should be considered a half success. The trade in fake product reviews is a symptom of a much more serious problem with the unfair manipulation of consumer buying behaviour. [1]
