Here's what the government's new norms to curb fake online reviews & ratings include

• Tour and travel, restaurant and eateries, and consumer durables are prominent sectors where online reviews and ratings play significant roles.
• The Department of Consumer Affairs constituted a committee on checking fake and deceptive reviews on 10th June 2022.
• New norms will make e-commerce websites more authentic and less misleading for users, says the government.

On Monday, the Indian Government announced a framework to curb fake reviews and ratings on e-commerce portals and platforms offering tour and travel services, eateries, restaurants and consumer durables.

The Department of Consumer Affairs stated that it will initially introduce the standards for voluntary compliance by all e-commerce platforms, before being made mandatory.

The new standards were announced after the Department of Consumer Affairs constituted a committee on checking fake and deceptive reviews on 10th June 2022. The new norms will come into force from November 25.

“If they are not doing it and if they are indulging into a practice, which can then be termed as an unfair trading practice, then under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act that deals with unfair trading practice or a consumer court can take penal action,” said Rohit Kumar Singh, secretary - Consumer Affairs, in a press conference held in New Delhi. Further, he also added that the department wants all e-commerce companies to adopt this framework as early as possible.

The new norms include different steps of verification of a review, starting with the review collection process through invitation. Further, it includes the steps for verification of the review author through a moderation process that includes automated and manual moderation. If a review does not meet the specified terms and conditions, it will be deemed fraudulent and rejected.

Here are the detailed steps of the review process:
Verification of review author
Verifying the email address | Confirming their registration by clicking on a link | Verification by telephone call or SMS | Verification of identification by Single Sign-On | Verification of identification by geolocation or IP address | Verification by using a single user per email address | Verification using the captcha system
Moderation process
Automated moderation: Language to be reviewed | Submission as per terms and conditions | No bias
Manual moderation
Language to be reviewed | Submission as per terms and conditions | No bias
Rejection of a consumer review
Fraudulent | Does not meet the terms and conditions

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