Amazon sues 1,000 fake reviewers. Can online retailers restore customer trust?
Internet users who post fake online reviews of Amazon products may be facing time in court.
The retail giant on Friday filed suit in Seattle against more than 1,000 unidentified defendants 鈥� whose real names the company has not yet learned 鈥� for tarnishing Amazon鈥檚 brand name with 鈥渇alse, misleading and inauthentic鈥� reviews on its website. The action, which follows a similar lawsuit the retailer filed in April, is part of a broader response by companies against reviewers for hire, who post fraudulent consumer reviews for a price.
"While we cannot comment on active litigation, we can clarify that this lawsuit is ... against individuals who are providing these reviews and undermining customer trust on Amazon," the company . 鈥淲e continue to use a number of mechanisms to detect and remove the small fraction of reviews that violate our guidelines.鈥�
The individuals in the suit, part of a network of firms and freelance forgers who create batches of positive reviews to order for as little as $5 each, reportedly offered their services on Fiverr.com, an online labor exchange, . Amazon has said it is not targeting Fiverr, instead working with the company to help end the practice.
Amazon in April took legal action against reviewers-for-hire websites, accusing them of trademark infringement, false advertising, and violations of at least two US consumer protection laws. One of the sites, buyamazonereviews.com, promises, 鈥淥ur skilled writers look at your product, look at your competitor鈥檚 products and then write state of the art reviews that will be sure to generate sales for you.鈥�
In June, Amazon began using an artificial intelligence system to boost the weight of verified customer write-ups in an effort to undermine false reviews, .
Other companies that rely on consumer reviews have taken steps as well. Travel website TripAdvisor claims to have 鈥�,鈥� warning would-be violators that phony reviews will be taken down immediately and that property in question would see a drop in the site鈥檚 rankings.
Yelp in February sued a company called Yelp Director, which claimed to be able to generate positive reviews from restaurant customers so that they would stick to Yelp鈥檚 front page and filter out any negative comments, .
Some experts say such actions are necessary to try to maintain the industry鈥檚 integrity, but will likely have little real impact.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that you can prevent this, I think it鈥檚 in the environment,鈥� said Robert Taraschi, chief executive officer of Washington, DC-based innovation group Milestone Ideas, . 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 good that there鈥檚 a lawsuit, I think it鈥檚 good that people are keeping the herd in line. But unfortunately the herd in this case, I think, is moving much faster than the law.鈥�
Still, the value of genuine reviews from actual customers remains critical, wrote Natalie Haynes, an English writer and broadcaster in .
鈥淔or word-of-mouth to work, the mouths have to belong to real people, not ventriloquists鈥� dummies,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淥therwise you just have words on an Amazon page that no one visits.鈥�
