The Amazon logo is displayed on a smartphone and a PC screen.
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LONDON – The UK competition authority on Friday opened a formal investigation into Amazon and Google over concerns that they had not done enough to combat fake reviews.
“We are investigating concerns that Amazon and Google have not done enough to prevent or remove fake reviews to protect customers and honest businesses,” said Andrea Cocelli, CEO of the CMA, in a statement.
“It is important that these technology platforms take responsibility and that we are ready to take action if we find that they are not doing enough.”
Misleading customer reviews have proven to be a major problem in e-commerce. Amazon is a prime destination for retailers looking to spice up their products online. Last month, the company called on social media companies to weed out fake reviews.
The competition and market supervisory authority launched an initial investigation into the problem of falsified reviews in May 2020. Earlier this year, she had Facebook and eBay remove several groups and accounts involved in the fake reviews trade.
Then, in April of that year, the CMA said Facebook removed thousands more groups trading in false and misleading reviews and made further changes to its systems to identify, remove, and prevent such content on its platforms.
On Friday, the CMA focused on Amazon and Google, saying it would look to see if they had done enough to detect and remove fake reviews. The investigation will also investigate whether companies are penalizing appraisers or companies to prevent them from publishing misleading results.
The watchdog added that it was concerned that Amazon’s systems could not prevent sellers from tampering with product lists, citing the example of merchants taking positive reviews of other products.
The CMA has not yet decided whether Amazon and Google have broken the law at the time, but said they would take enforcement action – including legal proceedings against the companies that may become necessary – if they are found to be in breach of consumer law.
It’s the latest in a string of investigations against digital giants. Just three days ago, the European Union launched another antitrust investigation against Google to investigate whether the internet search giant prefers its own online display advertising technology services.
The British CMA wants to take on a growing role in screening large US technology companies after Brexit. The watchdog has been hired by the government to set up a new Digital Markets Unit to monitor competition in the UK internet market.
