The government’s guidelines regarding online consumer reviews have come into effect from Friday (November 25), in order to curb fake reviews on various e-commerce sites including Amazon and Flipkart. The Bureau Of Indian Standards (BIS) will develop a conformity assessment scheme to assess compliance of the standards, which will be applicable to every online platform that publishes customer reviews. Here’re details about the online review guidelines:
What Are The Guidelines On Online Consumer Reviews/ Fake Reviews?
The standard prescribes specific responsibilities for the review author and the review administrator. For the review author, these include confirming acceptance of terms and conditions, and providing contact information. For the review administrator, these include safeguarding personal information and training of staff.
The guidelines or standards provide for the responsibilities of an organisation, including developing a code of practice, and necessary stipulations for terms and conditions like accessibility, criteria, and ensuring content does not contain financial information, etc.
The standard also provides for methods for verification of the review author through email address, identification by telephone call or SMS, confirming registration by clicking on a link, using a captcha system to check the traceability and genuineness of the review author.
With respect to the moderation, the standard provides for both automated and manual moderation and provides checks for analysing the review content. As regards to publication, the standard includes considerations for the review administrator at the time of publication process and after the publication process. The accuracy of the review, default display and weightage of ratings are defined in the publication process.
Are The Guidelines Mandatory To Follow?
Currently, no. The guidelines are for now voluntary for compliance by all e-commerce platform. The Bureau Of Indian Standards (BIS) will also develop a conformity assessment scheme for the standard to assess compliance.
Once made mandatory, the violation of the standards by any entity may be considered an unfair trade practice or violation of consumer rights and a consumer may submit such grievances to the National Consumer Helpline, Consumer Commissions or the CCPA.
“The standard is expected to benefit all stakeholders in the e-commerce ecosystem i.e., consumers, e-commerce platforms, sellers etc. It will help usher in confidence among consumers to purchase goods online and help them take better purchase decisions,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
The ministry said there has been a steady rise in e-commerce transactions across the country in the past few years. Reviews posted online play a significant role in making purchase decisions and consumers exceedingly rely on reviews posted on e-commerce platforms to see the opinion and experience of users who have already purchased the good or service.
“Given that e-commerce involves a virtual shopping experience without any opportunity to physically view or examine the product, it is essential that reviews are genuine, authentic and trustworthy,” the ministry said.
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