Amazon’s legal war against bogus review brokers
The US e-commerce giant Amazon filed its first criminal complaint in Italy, at a European level, against fake reviews in exchange for money or free products. All the details
Amazon takes the field against fake review brokers.
The US e-commerce giant announced Thursday that it has filed legal complaints in Italy as it intensifies efforts globally to shut down fake review brokers.
The proceeding, together with the first civil lawsuit in Spain and 10 new lawsuits in the United States, aims "to identify and block operators who manage more than 11,000 websites and social groups that feed the false review market", announces the giant of ' e-commerce in a note. These conducts may prefigure crimes for which prison sentences and fines are envisaged.
The company also said it sent notices to five websites in Germany directing visitors to a fake review broker, adding that everyone has since agreed to stop this business by signing a quit and desist letter.
"Amazon has long struggled with fake or manipulated reviews and the problem only got worse as more people flocked to its site to shop during the pandemic," Reuters recalls. Four- and five-star reviews can contribute to sales, especially if customers perceive them as unbiased.
Just last February, the Seattle e-commerce giant sued two websites, AppSally and Rebatest, accusing them of buying and selling product reviews in exchange for money or free products.
All the details.
THE POSITION OF AMAZON
“Amazon will continue to devote significant resources to fighting fake reviews and ensuring customers have a reliable shopping experience,” says Amazon's vice president of Selling Partner Services. “We continue to improve our proactive controls, invent new technologies and use machine learning to detect bad actors and find new ways to bring them to justice,” continues Dharmesh Mehta.
“There is no place for fake reviews on Amazon,” notes Vice President Dharmesh Mehta.
THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT IN ITALY
The complaint filed in Italy targets one of the leading brokers selling fake reviews and would have created a network of people willing to buy products on Amazon and post 5-star reviews in exchange for a full refund of their purchases.
THE SALE OF FAKE REVIEWS
Tens of thousands of people have joined dedicated channels on Telegram's instant messaging site where anonymous intermediaries invite people to write five-star reviews for products on Amazon in exchange for a financial reward.
In its first criminal complaint in Europe, Amazon said it was targeting a "high-profile broker in Italy selling fake reviews," but did not name the person.
The online retailer said the defendant claimed to have built a network of individuals willing to purchase products on his site and post five-star reviews in exchange for a full refund.
AND THE CIVIL ONE IN SPAIN
Amazon also filed its first civil complaint in Spain against a fake review broker, Agencia Reviews, which communicates via the Telegram instant messaging service to avoid being tracked.
According to the group founded by Jeff Bezos, the Spain-based operator was fully reimbursing customers once a fake 5-star review was posted.
ALSO OTHER CONSUMPTION JOINS THE FIGHT
Finally, returning to our country, Amazon's initiative also received appreciation from the consumer association Altroconsumo.
“You give me 5 stars on Amazon, I give you the product you have reviewed. It sounds like a bargain, but it's illegal. To be exact, this system would violate articles 513 (disturbed freedom of industry and commerce) and 640 (aggravated contractual fraud pursuant to article 61 n. 2 and n. 5 of the criminal code). If, then, dealers and users with easy reviews are even agents-intermediaries through numerous websites, Facebook groups and Telegram channels, then you immediately understand that this is a real organized scam against the consumer " explains the association. .
Precisely for this Altroconsumo "has filed the complaints with four prosecutors, Bologna, Ivrea, Milan and Rome" and also sent "a report to the Antitrust to bring out this broad phenomenon", since the so-called boosting "damages consumers and the market: as an unfair commercial practice ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/amazon-recensioni-false-italia/ on Thu, 20 Oct 2022 12:35:37 +0000.