A Significant Step towards Protecting Consumer Rights

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken the onus to take stock of misleading conduct, with reference to fake online reviews, by inculcating best practice guidelines in lines with online reviews for businesses and review sites.

Online reviews have become integral to businesses owing to its ability to motivate or dissuade consumer preferences. A random survey manifested about 74% of social media users fall back on consumer review sites for decision making, making it easy for the sites to play around with opinions.

Increasing popularity of online purchase has given way to this new instrument of promoting businesses, which at times is being misused by deceitful elements. Thus, besides encouraging informed decision making these review platforms, in a way, deludes consumers.

Experts believe, in today’s date, consumers are served with a plethora of choices than ever before. But, this sea of information calls for greater responsibility that ensures accuracy and reliability.

There is a growing concern for the sharp rise in paid and fake reviews across the web. Consumers are lead to believe in something that is just the half truth and are never really based on authentic experience of a consumer. Consumer review sites undertake strategic marketing to create an illusion and suppress the real

The ACCC has taken the stand in order to protect Australian business sentiment from getting hurt by executing the misdoings of pretentious review sites. The guidelines are hinged on the following three factors:

 Encouraging transparency and presenting unbiased reviews  Refrain from hosting misleading comments and responses  Prevent deletion of negative reviews  Putting a stop to bribing consumers with generous rewards in return for glorious reviews on their product and service.  Last but not the least, discouraging review platforms from endorsing businesses.

Courts are likely to charge whooping penalties to the miscreants who breach the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. There have been cases when ACCC has acted against businesses labeled for committing review frauds. Currently, authorities are conducting stringent monitoring of the review sector to save these sites from rampant wrongdoings.

The guidelines intend to disseminate awareness and suggest ways to both review platforms as well as businesses to save the sanctity of competition and avoid misleading consumers by tacitly encouraging them to invest in a bad purchase.