According to Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, the government will next week publish a framework to combat fake reviews and unverified star ratings on e-commerce websites, hotel and travel booking platforms.
Since e-commerce involves a virtual shopping experience without any opportunity to physically view or examine the product, consumers rely heavily on reviews posted on the platform to see the opinions and experiences of those users. who have already purchased goods or services.
But fake reviews and star ratings mislead consumers to buy products and services online.
To check fake reviews, Singh said the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) has finalized the framework after studying the current mechanisms being followed by e-commerce entities in India and best practices available globally .
“After consultation with stakeholders, we have finalized the framework to combat fake reviews. BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) has also come out with a standard. The framework for managing duplicate reviews will be published next week.
India will probably be the first country which has developed a framework for fake review management, he said.
“Initially it will be voluntary and gradually it will be made mandatory,” he said.
Stakeholders of e-commerce companies have claimed that they have frameworks by which they monitor fake reviews.
