The Competition and Markets Authority has published guidance for online review sites, as part of its work in implementing the new rules prohibiting fake reviews under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.  

The guidance supplements the more extensive fake reviews guidance published earlier this year, and follows the recent warning from the CMA (discussed here) that businesses are not doing enough to ensure that they comply with the new rules under the DMCCA. 

The guidance is particularly aimed at businesses whose websites allow people to review products and stresses that all “genuine, relevant and lawful” reviews should be published. No steps should be taken to edit, remove, or delay genuine negative reviews. At the same time, those businesses whose products are reviewed on the site should not be provided with a right to block reviews that they do not like. Similarly, negative reviews should not be treated as complaints and not published as a result – instead users should be provided information about the difference between leaving a review intended for publication and making a complaint.  

The CMA also advises that online review sites have processes and procedures in place to prevent and remove fake reviews, including subjecting “both negative and positive reviews to checks of the appropriate rigour”. Information should be provided to users about how reviews have been collected and checked, alongside a published policy stating that fake reviews are prohibited. 

Finally – and unsurprisingly – the guidance also makes clear that any commercial relationships with the businesses listed on the review site must be disclosed. 

To read the guidance in full, click here.