New Delhi: The country's Department of Consumer Affairs on Wednesday held a stakeholder consultation on the protection of consumers from online fake reviews.
According to New Delhi, the number of consumer grievances related to e-commerce registered on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has increased significantly, from 95,270 in 2018 (22% of total grievances) to 4,44,034 in 2023 (43% of total grievances). Online reviews provide social proof to potential customers and give them confidence in purchasing a product or availing of a service.
The discussion on moving towards a Quality Control Order for IS 19000:2022 was welcomed by stakeholders, and there was a general consensus that the issue of fake reviews is important to protect consumer interest while shopping online and requires close monitoring. The Draft Quality Control Order will be placed for public consultation for submitting comments within a prescribed time frame.
The presence of fake reviews online jeopardizes the trustworthiness and credibility of shopping platforms and can cause consumers to make wrong purchase decisions, officials have noted. In November 2022, the Department launched the Indian Standard (IS) 19000:2022, which prescribes specific responsibilities for review authors and administrators.
Organizations are required to identify review authors by specific prescribed modes and develop a written code of practice that outlines how these documents and guiding principles will be met and maintained.
The draft Quality Control Order (QCO) includes essential requirements for collecting, moderating, and publishing online consumer reviews in a manner that ensures genuine reviews are published. Prohibitions under the proposed QCO include not publishing consumer reviews collected with bias objective and prejudice, not editing reviews to alter their message, and not preventing or discouraging people from submitting negative reviews.
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