The ban on fake reviews is coming: avoid fines!
Fake reviews, it was already unethical, but soon it will really be punishable. The government has announced that there will be a ban on posting and allowing fake reviews on the Internet. This ban will protect consumers when making online purchases. As a seller, this means that there will be new rules that you must abide by. If you don't, you risk a fine of at least 4% of your turnover. Fortunately, as a review provider, we can relieve you of this burden. In this article you can read how we do this.
The ban on fake reviews
A study by Capterra shows that 61% of consumers always check reviews before making a purchase online. So you can imagine that the authenticity of these reviews is incredibly important. Yet it has been known for years that there are many fake reviews in circulation. The AD wrote the following about this:
How many reviews are fake is unclear, but estimates in various studies range from 16 percent to a third or perhaps more. Moreover, one in ten reviews is the result of active manipulation. This is when a manufacturer promises customers something in exchange for a positive review. There are also rogue companies that leave positive reviews at online stores or on social media for a fee.
For many online platforms - including us as ValuedShops - countering fake reviews has become a real sport. Fortunately, the government also believes that this is no longer acceptable. The rules around the ban on fake reviews are all in the bill Modernization Consumer Protection that ministers Stef Blok (Economic Affairs & Climate) and Sander Dekker (Legal Protection) submitted to the House of Representatives last night.
Which rules will apply
To make it a little clearer, we have listed the new rules regarding fake reviews:
- Consumer reviews must be checked for authenticity before they are posted (and this is your responsibility as a seller).
- There will be a ban on posting fake reviews for payment.
- As a seller, you must be able to demonstrate whether and how you verify that your reviews come from consumers who have actually purchased the product.
From the text of the law it appears that this mainly concerns product reviews. Many web store software offers on the product page an option to write a product review, as a merchant you need to be able to verify that reviews placed on the page are actually from a buyer (and not from another party such as a supplier or manufacturer). ValuedShops can relieve you in that area.
Fines of at least 4% of your turnover
The Authority Consumer & Market (ACM) will check whether online sellers comply with these rules. If not, they can impose a fine of at least 4% of your turnover. It's up to us to prevent this!
ValuedShops checks reviews for authenticity
As described above, you have to check your reviews for authenticity. This is where we come to your rescue as review provider. Our software ensures that only real customers can leave reviews and product reviews. Our software links a review to an order, validating that it is a real customer. In addition, our software detects companies that use purchased reviews. This complies with legislation that requires you to check reviews for authenticity. And by collecting reviews through ValuedShops, your customers also immediately know that your reviews are authentic and reliable. Moreover ... posting fake reviews is really not necessary! The basis remains simply providing a good service or product and making it easy for your (satisfied) customers to leave a review. We help you do this by pre-filling in information such as order number, customer name and email address, so a customer can post a review with one click. So, do you provide good service? Then we will take care of you in the review area!