Aiming to eliminate fake or paid product reviews on social media and eCommerce sites, the Indian government is reportedly preparing to announce regulations that will target people who are paid to endorse merchandise — holding them liable if any issues arise around the products.
The move comes in response to complaints from consumers about people who don’t disclose that they have been paid by the companies whose products they review online, according to a Wednesday (Sept. 7) report by Bloomberg that cited the Indian consumer affairs department’s senior bureaucrat, Rohit Kumar Singh.
The consumer affairs ministry had a meeting with stakeholders, including eCommerce companies, to discuss the issue of paid reviews and the challenges they present to consumers, The Economic Times reported Aug. 3.
As PYMNTS reported Aug. 29, India has 1.4 billion people and internet penetration that is steadily growing at 47%, up from the low-single-digits 15 years ago.
Read more: Meta Challenges Amazon, Walmart for Share of Indian eCommerce Market
As such, the country has been an important front in the eCommerce war between Amazon and Walmart, and it recently saw Meta join forces with Indian eCommerce company JioMart to give customers the chance to buy groceries within Meta’s WhatsApp chat.
Regulators in the United States have wrestled with issues around reviews as well. As PYMNTS reported in March, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unveiled policy guidance related to consumer reviews, noting that companies may neither post fake reviews nor forbid customers from posting honest reviews.
See more: CFPB Releases Policy Guidance Related to Fake and Dishonest Reviews
“In America, no corporation should be able to silence a customer from posting an honest review online,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the agency’s announcement. “Corporate disinformation campaigns that suppress legitimate reviews or manufacture fake reviews are not only a threat to free speech and fair competition, they are also illegal.”
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