You Can Now Get Fined $51,744 for Writing a Fake Review Online

In August, the Federal Trade Commission announced a ban on writing, buying, or selling fake reviews online. Under the new rule, anyone who participates in a fake online review could be fined up to $51,744. The commissioners voted in agreement and it’s now in effect.

This mandate includes AI-generated reviews (which have recently invaded Amazon) and also encompasses dishonest celebrity endorsements as well as testimonials posted by a company’s employees, relatives, or friends, unless they include an explicit disclaimer. The rule also prohibits brands from offering any sort of incentive to prompt such an action. Suppressing negative reviews is no longer allowed, nor is promoting reviews that a company knows or should know are fake.

Phony online reviews are harmful not just because they mislead consumers but because they create unfair competition. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement: “By strengthening the FTC’s toolkit to fight deceptive advertising, the final rule will protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive.”

Recent developments point toward the fake reviews problem finally being taken seriously. Just last month, Google updated its review restrictions document with new business profile restrictions for policy violations. It stated that any Google Maps business profile caught with a fake review will be unable to receive new reviews for a given period, have its existing reviews or ratings unable to be published for a specific time period, and have the page show a warning message to users informing them about non-compliant reviews having been removed.

Browsers have also experimented with solutions by offering proprietary services to weed out fake online reviews. Last October, Firefox began testing a new tool, Review Checker, powered by Firefox-acquired Fakespot, that is supposed to automatically filter out misleading reviews and counterfeit products as you shop. The tool is now available as a built-in shopping feature on the browser.