All too often, when you see an online review that seems too good to be true, it’s because it is. The internet is plagued with fake and untrustworthy reviews of businesses. These hurt not only consumers, but the businesses themselves as well; it causes consumers to lose trust in local shops. The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to create a penalty to discourage the posting of falsified reviews.
Go deeper: This proposal would penalize business who buy/sell fake reviews, incentivizing good reviews, and suppressing negative reviews. Any employees and company “insiders” would also be required to disclose their connection if they were to leave a review. Online reviews can be a great resource to help consumers connect with businesses that meet their needs and can help hard-working businesses increase clientele, but when abused, the system doesn’t work. Ready to get this flawed system fixed, many large firms created the first Global Coalition for Trusted Reviews.
What they’re saying: While many aspects of the FTC’s proposal to improve the integrity of online reviews are a great step in the right direction, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has suggested the following amendments to make sure it stays business friendly:
Any rule should support a robust review ecosystem. Therefore, the FTC should not hold retailers or websites liable (1) for efforts to remove harmful third-party content from their website, and (2) for simply displaying, hosting, aggregating, or prompting consumers to write a review or testimonial.
The FTC should only include prohibitions for acts or practices that are prevalent in the marketplace.
The FTC should encourage, not eliminate, opportunities in the rulemaking record for public discourse.
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