India proposes guidelines to combat fake online reviews and ratings (updated)

Taparia Tools

21/11/2022 14:20

(Updates with company comments)
    By Mayank Bhardwaj and Nivedita Bhattacharjee
       NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, Nov 21 (Reuters) - India launched a
crackdown on Monday against fake consumer reviews and unverified
ratings in a bid to make the online world and e-commerce more
authentic and less misleading for users. 
    The government has drafted guidelines for companies from
Alphabet Inc's  GOOGL.O  Google, Meta Platform's  META.O 
Facebook and Instagram, and Amazon.com Inc  AMZN.O  to travel
sites and food delivery apps that depend on reviews to validate
products and services. Positive reviews help generate sales and
interest from potential buyers.
    Some companies have been criticised by consumers and
industry experts for downplaying negative reviews, or accepting
fake ratings, making the vetting process difficult for buyers. 
    The named companies did not immediately respond to a Reuters
email seeking comment.
    "Feedback mechanisms such as reviews are essential for
consumer interest. We welcome the steps being taken by the
government ... and are obliged to be a part of the constituted
committee," said a spokesperson for Zomato.
    The Department of Consumer Affairs set up a committee in
June to develop a framework for checking fake and deceptive
reviews in e-commerce, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food &
Public Distribution said.
    "The new guidelines for online reviews are designed to drive
increased transparency for both consumers and brands and promote
information accuracy," said Sachin Taparia, founder of
LocalCircles, a community platform and pollster which made the
initial submission to the Department of Consumer Affairs and was
part of the committee drafting the guidelines.
    "As far as platforms like Google and Facebook go, the new
rules will require them to validate the real person behind the
review through specified 6-8 mechanisms which means fake
accounts created just for review writing will go away over time
or won't be able to review," said Taparia.
    Full details of the proposal are not yet public. 
    "We do not want to bulldoze this. We will first see
voluntary compliance of these guidelines. And if we see the
menace continues to grow we may make this mandatory," Rohit
Kumar Singh, secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs,
told reporters in New Delhi. 
    The Bureau of Indian Standards will assess compliance, the
ministry said. 
    Online companies say they have internal checks in place to
combat fake reviews, but currently failure to do so is not a
compliance breach. 
    If the guidelines become mandatory, companies could face
action for unfair trade practice, for suppressing negative
reviews or for enabling planting of fake reviews, Taparia said.
 (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bengaluru; Editing by
Mike Harrison and Mark Potter)
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