Here’s how many platforms violate EU law with fake reviews. Source: pexels.com

According to Ecommerce News, almost two-thirds of online shops and platforms triggered doubts about the reliability of consumer reviews.

In 144 out of the 223 websites checked, authorities couldn’t confirm that businesses were doing enough to ensure authentic reviews.

The European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation have screened websites on online consumer reviews. The CPC is a network of authorities responsible for EU consumer protection laws.

In fact, more than half of the websites (118) didn’t contain information about how fake reviews are prevented. Furthermore, 176 of the websites don’t mention that incentivized reviews are prohibited or how they ensure that these reviews are flagged as incentivized.

The sweep was carried out after the?Market Monitoring Survey 2020?showed that consumers rely on reviews when making purchasing decisions. Up to 71% of consumers consider reviews as important when booking holiday accommodation.

Authorities of 26 Member States, Iceland and Norway checked 223 major websites for misleading consumer reviews. Almost two thirds of online shops, marketplaces, booking websites, search engines and comparison service sites triggered doubts about the reliability of the reviews.

Of the 223 websites that were checked for 144 of them, authorities couldn’t confirm that these merchants were taking action to make sure that reviews were posted by consumers that actually used the product or service reviewed.

At least 104 websites do not inform users how reviews are collected and processed. Only 84 websites mentioned that information on the review page itself, while others mention it in small print in their legal terms and conditions.

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