NEW DELHI: Government is set to make
anti-fake review norms
mandatory for
e-commerce companies
to protect
consumer interest
. The
consumer affairs department
plans to notify the
Quality Control Order
(QCO) for
online consumer reviews
after a voluntary push failed to effectively curb
fake reviews
.
The department had issued quality norms for e-tailers a year ago, prohibiting them from publishing paid reviews and demanding disclosure of such promotional contents.
“Some entities claim that they are complying with it. But, fake reviews are still getting published. We are holding consultation with the stakeholders this week. We want to make these standards mandatory to protect consumer interest,” said consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare.
The
Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) has come up with draft norms for “Online Consumer Reviews” and circulated it among stakeholders. The draft QCO specifies that all organisations (termed as review administrator) managing and publishing online consumer reviews shall comply with the norms. They must ensure that only “genuine” reviews get published and they won’t publish any “fake or false” consumer reviews online
As per draft norms, entities shall not publish reviews that have been purchased and/or written by individuals employed for that purpose or the supplier or by a third party. They can’t reward or incentivise consumers based on the content of the review submitted. “The organisation shall not edit reviews to alter their message. The organisation shall not prevent or discourage people from submitting negative reviews,” it said.
