Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) has pledged to improve its handling of fake reviews following an investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The move aims to give shoppers more confidence in product ratings, which influence billions in annual spending.
The retailer agreed to enhance systems that detect and remove fake reviews and to crack down on a tactic known as "catalogue abuse," where sellers falsely attach high-rated reviews to unrelated products.
Sellers found manipulating reviews risk being banned from the platform, and users posting deceptive feedback could see all their previous reviews deleted.
The CMA launched the probe in 2021, citing concerns that Amazon and Google were not doing enough to tackle the problem. Google made similar commitments earlier this year.
New powers granted under the 2024 Digital Markets Act allow the CMA to enforce consumer law directly, including imposing fines and demanding redress from businesses that breach regulations.