E-com giants back govt move on rules against fake reviews
New Delhi, May 15
Major e-commerce companies in India on Wednesday backed the government’s proposal to make mandatory compliance with quality norms for consumer reviews, the Consumer Affairs Department said on Wednesday.
At a meeting held here, representatives from Amazon, Flipkart, Google and Meta, among others, endorsed the proposed quality control order to implement the IS 19000:2022 standard on ‘online consumer reviews’, according to the department.
In consumer interest
- In a meeting with the Consumer Affairs Department, representatives from
- Amazon, Flipkart, Google and Meta endorsed the proposed quality control order on ‘online consumer reviews’
- The department said there was a consensus that the order is important to protect the interests of consumers from misleading reviews on shopping websites and apps
There was a consensus that the order is important to protect consumer interests from misleading reviews on shopping websites and apps, it said, adding that the draft order will be put up for public consultation.
Chairing the meeting, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said the standard was important as online shoppers heavily depend on reviews for purchases they cannot physically inspect. “The presence of fake reviews online jeopardises the trustworthiness of platforms and can lead to wrong purchase decisions,” the statement said.
The standard prescribes specific responsibilities for review authors and administrators. It requires review authors to be identified, bars editing of reviews to alter messaging, and prohibits preventing or discouraging negative reviews.
The move comes after a voluntary push failed to effectively curb fake reviews. The department also saw a surge in e-commerce-related consumer complaints to 4,44,034 in 2023 from just 95,270 in 2018, making up 43 per cent of the total grievances registered.
