Checking reviews and star-ratings is all part of booking a holiday or a table at a restaurant.
But sometimes, fake or paid-for comments on the likes of Tripadvisor, Google Reviews and Trustpilot, can mean you don’t always get the real picture.
But now, the Italian government has unveiled a new draft law which introduces several hurdles for reviewers, to ensure their shared opinions are legit.
These include providing a verifiable ID as well as proof that they have actually visited the place in question.
Reviews will also have to be posted within two weeks of visiting, and can be removed if they are untrue.
While fake reviews are already illegal in Italy, policing violations are difficult. It’s unclear at what point the checks need to be provided or who would decide whether or not the evidence is acceptable.
It appears that an overhaul of travel platforms would be required to put these restrictions in place.
However, the bill proposes giving the task of checking reviews and issuing fines to Italy’s antitrust watchdog, the Italy’s antitrust watchdog, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM).
In the past, the AGCM have successfully fined huge corporations such as Meta and Booking.com.
Speaking about the decision to implement the rules, Italy’s tourism minister Daniela Santanche said: ‘We took up a commitment with the tourism industry to look at reviews, a very thorny topic, very delicate, that no one touched before us.’
She added: ‘This will be useful to have more transparency, to be more fair and have more quality.’
She also said that ‘Reviews [are] fundamental for the success of companies and the trust of consumer and tourists.’
The bill has reportedly been welcomed by some industry lobbies, including consumer advocacy group Codacons, which described the measure as a ‘necessary step to protect consumers and businesses’.
However, ADUC, another consumer rights organisation, has expressed concerns, arguing that proposed regulations could risk a barrier to consumer freedom of expression.
Online reviews play an integral role in consumer decision-making online. Italy’s Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy said fake and manipulated reviews impact between 6% and 30% of the revenue for hospitality businesses and restaurants.
How to spot a fake review
According to the UK consumer group Which? there are several ways to spot a fake review online. These include the following:
- Actually read the reviews – ‘Read through the reviews, and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.’
- Ignore the five-star ratings’ – To get a balanced view of a product, Which? Suggests reading the four, three and two-star reviews for an ‘honest opinion’.
- Check the most recent ratings – these will help give a ‘reliable idea of the most recent reviewer experiences’.
- Take extra care buying unknown brands – ‘If you don’t recognise a brand, check online to see if it has a legitimate-looking website.’
- Check out what else the reviewers bought – Which? advises looking out for overwhelmingly positive reviews by the same reviewer – as they might be getting the products for free
However, in 2023, the Department for Business & Trade found that at least 10% of all product reviews on third-party e-commerce platforms are likely to be fake.
Tripadvisor research also found that 1.3 million reviews submitted to the platform in 2022 were false – making for a total of 4.4% of all reviews posted.
Although many online reviews can steer in favour of the business – some can equally damage the reputation of businesses.
The issue of false reviews emerged in London last year after locals flooded Google and Tripadvisor with overly enthusiastic reviews of Angus Steakhouse, a chain often viewed as a tourist trap.
In a bid to steer unsuspecting tourists away from their favourite spots, they left glowing, exaggerated reviews for places they’d never actually recommend.
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