The CMA has recently issued guidance about online review sites. The guidance is aimed at helping sites that publish online reviews comply with the requirements about fake reviews in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
The CMA states that if a company’s website allows people to review products, they must publish all genuine, relevant and lawful reviews. They should also make sure that processes to collect, moderate and publish reviews don’t hinder this process.
The CMA has advised that companies’ processes should ensure that users of review sites are shown a full and accurate picture on feedback of other consumers’ experiences, including:
- Aggregate ratings reflecting genuine reviews and which are not distorted by fake or incentivised reviews.
- Ensuring published reviews are relevant to the product as well as being up-to-date.
- Once reviews are submitted, they are published without unreasonable delays.
The CMA also gives guidance on what companies must not do regarding negative online reviews:
- Edit, withhold, remove or delay publication of genuine negative reviews.
- Give businesses the right to block reviews they don’t like.
- Make an offer to resolve a dispute contingent on a customer not leaving a negative review.
- Try to persuade customers to submit a complaint, rather than a review for publishing.
- Try to dissuade customers from leaving a review on their experience – even if the initial problem has been resolved.
In addition, the CMA has issued further updated guidance on fake reviews, unfair commercial practices and online reviews and endorsements.
Reviews
CMA research indicates that more than half of UK adults rely on online reviews to help potential customers decide whether to buy products. Companies can engage in misleading practices which could be in breach of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and therefore companies could be fined up to 10% of their annual turnover.
The CMA’s guidance has been updated for businesses whose products are being reviewed as well as PR, marketing and search engine optimisation (SEO) companies.
The guidance’s key points for businesses whose products are being reviewed are:
- Businesses must not pretend to be customers and write reviews about their products or other businesses’ products
- Business should not commission third parties to write fake reviews as they may be liable for the third parties’ actions
- If businesses are working with third parties, such as a PR, marketing or SEO agency, they must also follow these rules (see below)
- Businesses must not offer inducements to customers to write positive reviews about their company
The CMA makes the following key points for PR, marketing and SEO companies:
- These companies must not write or arrange fake reviews on behalf of clients
Staff should be adequately trained and contracts, internal policies, corporate brochures and other related materials must accurately reflect the requirements of the law
- These companies must also inform clients that fake reviews are illegal
Social media endorsements
Businesses can often contact content creators and ask them to promote their brands or products on social media through different methods including:
- Posts, photos, stories, reels or videos
- Endorsements
- Tags
- Competitions, prize draws, and giveaways
- Reviews
- Gifts
- Other forms of online content
Brands may sometimes enter into a formal agreement with content creators to post content or promote the brand. The CMA has stated that all such promotional content should be clearly labelled as ads and that companies have a responsibility to ensure that content promoting their brand is properly labelled when it results from their marketing activities or is being published on their behalf.
Any form of incentive or reward is viewed by the CMA as payment – including money, commissions, discounts etc.
The CMA’s guidance states that companies must ensure that creators label any content resulting from gifts as ads. The CMA has also set out guidance that these companies should have a policy setting out brand rules on content that creators should follow and make sure they are aware of this
