The United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating fake and misleading reviews on several major websites, warning that it would take action against law violators.
That could include taking major retailers to court.
Under the country's consumer protection law, fake and misleading reviews are illegal and bans traders from pretending to be consumers of their products.
The CMA requires online shops to adhere to the rules, and it would determine whether it is "doing enough" to protect customers who turn to them during the lockdown.
CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli emphasized the importance of genuine online reviews, especially during a lockdown where consumers rely heavily on online shopping.
Last year, the CMA estimated that online reviews potentially influence $28 billion of customer spending in the UK every year.
Such is the impact of online reviews that many reviewers receive money or other incentives for positive comments.
The CMA, which did not identify the websites it was investigating, noted that Instagram had committed to addressing the problem of fake reviews on its platform and added that it found the existence of buying and selling of fake reviews in Facebook groups and eBay.
CMA threatened to later name and shame websites if forced to take action against them.
Last year, the consumer group Which? in one month found 55,000 posts that offer free goods to those who would write positive reviews on Amazon.


Weight-Loss Drug Ads Take Over the Super Bowl as Pharma Embraces Direct-to-Consumer Marketing
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates
Alphabet’s Massive AI Spending Surge Signals Confidence in Google’s Growth Engine
OpenAI Expands Enterprise AI Strategy With Major Hiring Push Ahead of New Business Offering
TSMC Eyes 3nm Chip Production in Japan with $17 Billion Kumamoto Investment
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports
CK Hutchison Launches Arbitration After Panama Court Revokes Canal Port Licences
SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off
Rio Tinto Shares Hit Record High After Ending Glencore Merger Talks
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI Investment Boom Is Just Beginning as NVDA Shares Surge
Instagram Outage Disrupts Thousands of U.S. Users
Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape
Nasdaq Proposes Fast-Track Rule to Accelerate Index Inclusion for Major New Listings
TrumpRx Website Launches to Offer Discounted Prescription Drugs for Cash-Paying Americans
Once Upon a Farm Raises Nearly $198 Million in IPO, Valued at Over $724 Million
Missouri Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Starbucks’ Diversity and Inclusion Policies 



