UK investigates Amazon Inc and Google for fake reviews

The competition regulator of Britain launched a formal probe on Friday into Amazon and Google. This is regarding the concern for the fake reviews for which they have not yet done enough.

Andrea Coscelli, the chief executive of the CMA, on this matter, said, “We are investigating concerns that Amazon and Google have not been doing enough to prevent or remove fake reviews to protect customers and honest businesses.”

These tech platforms must take responsibility. Thus Britain is standing ready to take action in case they find that the companies are not doing enough. The misleading consumer reviews are much of a bigger problem in eCommerce.

Moreover, Amazon and Prime are the targets for the brands who look for hyping their products online. They mostly use fake and favorable content. Last month the company was called on by the social media firms to help it remove the dishonest reviews.

The Competition and Markets Authority has begun an initial investigation on this matter of fake reviews. The investigation began in May 2020. Earlier this year, it reached out to Facebook and eBay to remove several groups and the accounts which engage in this trading of fake reviews.

Then in April of this year, the CMA said that Facebook had removed thousands and more groups who deal with fake reviews. Also, Facebook has made further changes in its system to easily identify them and remove them to prevent such platforms.

On Friday, CMA also focused on Amazon and Google. CMA is saying that it would look into whether they had done enough for detecting and removing the fake reviews or not. The probe will also go forward to examine if the company is penalizing the reviewers or the firms or not.

It was worried about the system of Amazon, which is failing to prevent the sellers from manipulating the product listings. The CMA has not yet decided whether Amazon and Google have broken the law or not. It would also take enforcement action if necessary.

Amazon said that it devotes significant resources to preventing face reviews. They work hard to ensure that the reviews are reflecting the genuine experience of the buyer. Amazon will continue to assist CAM with the inquiries.

Google said that the company’s policy clearly states that the reviews need to be based on genuine experience. In case they find any policy violations, they take action. Also, Google is ready to assist CMA with further inquiries. CMA is aiming to take a significant role in scrutinizing the major US tech firms.

Credits: CNBC