Anyone who shops online knows the dilemma: which reviews are trustworthy – and which ones are bought to praise the product to the skies? Online retailers now want to take joint action against the practice of fake reviews.
Amazon has now teamed up with several travel portals such as Expedia and Booking.com to take action against false user reviews on the platforms. It’s about “protecting access to trusted consumer reviews worldwide,” said the companies in a joint statement published on Tuesday. Methods will now be developed together to reliably identify fake reviews.
To do this, standards and definitions would first have to be developed, the platforms explained. In addition, information will be collected and shared about how fraudsters operate, “such as companies that sell fake reviews to companies in order to unfairly and improperly improve their reputation.”
For years, online platforms have been accused of not doing enough to combat fake reviews. The European Union passed a directive in 2019 that is intended to protect consumers from this. The Amazon group wants to meet in Brussels at the beginning of December to discuss how to proceed.
