The latest one among the investigations and suits against tech giants is the one British regulators started, placing Amazon and Google in the spotlight. Namely, there are suspicions that these companies broke the British Consumer Protection Law by not taking preventive measures to protect users from potential fraud.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority issued a statement last week, emphasizing the importance of investigating the matter. Their CEO pointed out that millions of people who shop online now more than ever could be drastically misled by the faulty five-star products and reviews left by people who didn’t have any contact with the product.
Earlier this year, a consumer group in the UK revealed a rapidly rising industry of companies that specialize in online marketplace manipulation. The study mentioned an example of a company that employs 620,000 reviewers around the work, i. e. people who write positive reviews for the clients — one review costs $18, or they can come in a bulk of 50 reviews for $863.
Both Google and Amazon agreed to work together with the CMA to prevent this from going any further. Amazon issued a statement that emphasizes their dedication and efforts towards protecting potential customers; only last year they erased around 200 million fake reviews.
