'Fake reviews' on commerce sites under lens

New Delhi, May 26

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The Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a virtual meeting on Friday with stakeholders, including e-commerce entities, to discuss the magnitude of fake reviews on their platforms, which mislead consumers into buying online products and services.

“Discussions will be broadly based on the impact of fake and misleading reviews on consumers and possible measures to prevent such an anomaly,” officials said.

Consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh has written to all stakeholders: e-commerce entities such as Flipkart, Amazon, Tata Sons, Reliance Retail and others, besides consumer forums, law universities, lawyers, FICCI, CII, and consumer rights activists to participate in the meeting.

“Since the issue impacts people shopping online on a daily basis and has a significant impact on their rights as a consumer, it is important that it is examined with greater scrutiny and detail,” Singh said.

The Secretary flagged with stakeholders results of an European Commission-wide screening on online consumer reviews across 223 major websites.