FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan speaks during her Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Graeme Jennings | Bloomberg | Getty Images
FTC Friday suggested A new rule aimed at banning fake online reviews marks the most aggressive step yet to stop review fraud.
The proposed rules would prohibit companies from buying or selling fake reviews and suppressing negative reviews, as well as “review hijacking,” which involves repurposing positive reviews for one item for other listings and can make new or questionable products appear trustworthy. It also prohibits company executives or insiders from leaving reviews of its products or services without disclosing their relationship.
“The rule will trigger civil penalties for violators and help level the playing field for honest companies,” Samuel Levin, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.
Fake reviews and abusive reviews have been an ongoing problem for online platforms such as amazon, Google and cry. Bad actors often rely on fake reviews to boost their product’s ranking in search results and drive more sales. In some cases, companies pay users to leave negative reviews of competitors’ products, a tactic known as “review vandalism.”
As review fraud has become more common, a shadow economy of online businesses has sprung up promising to provide companies with fake reviews, often for the sake of just a few bucks piece. Some of these businesses advertise their services through their websites, while others set up invite-only Facebook groups and Telegram chat rooms.
Amazon has been working hard to crack down on fake reviews on its third-party marketplace and has increasingly gone after fake review brokers and Facebook group moderators in court. It also uses a combination of human administrators and machine learning tools to try to detect suspicious activity on its website.
The FTC has increasingly cracked down on fake reviews because they “deceive consumers seeking genuine feedback on a product or service and undercut honest businesses,” the agency said. In February, the FTC filed its first case against review hijacking when fined Supplement maker Bountiful Co., which makes the popular vitamin brand Nature’s Bounty, used the strategy to boost sales of its Amazon listings.
The agency is on file Several other cases In recent years for those use fake reviews sell products online, and blocked their users Free from leaving negative reviews.
The widespread availability of generative artificial intelligence could make it easier for bad actors to write fake reviews, the FTC acknowledged in a statement Friday. CNBC previously reported that some people are already using AI chatbots to write reviews on Amazon.
The proposed rule will not take effect immediately. There is a 60-day public comment period, after which the agency can reevaluate the rule based on the comments received. After some time, the FTC will vote on the final version of its proposal.
watch: Many Amazon Reviews Are Fake, Here’s How To Spot Them
