Does the regulation say anything about deceptively moderating reviews? e.g. deleting all the low star reviews?
edit: it doesn't seem so. You just have use some weasel language:
>The final rule also bars a business from misrepresenting that the reviews on a review portion of its website represent all or most of the reviews submitted when reviews have been suppressed based upon their ratings or negative sentiment.
>> > the rule bans reviews and testimonials attributed to people who don’t exist or are generated by artificial intelligence, people who don’t have experience with the business or product/services, or misrepresent their experience.
I guess they don't know about how people scam Amazon reviews by getting legit people to simply buy the product and leave a five star review and then get reimbursed for their purchase later by the company or the company the company hired to get these people to do this.
(From 2022)
Inside the Underground Market for Fake Amazon Reviews
Officially banning fake reviews to introduce liability is a good start, but the real challenge with reviews is the incentive structure.
For positive reviews, a business will figure out customers who they already know had a positive experience (quick delivery, continuous usage, etc) and only send them invites to review. This is perfectly legal and the fundamental business model of many review websites - selling the ability to push invites and “manage” reviews.
For negative reviews - no business wants these, and customers with bad experiences are likely to post them by themselves.
What gets left out is the average experience because reviews are essentially cherry picked from the head and tail ends of the normal curve of experiences. This doesn’t render reviews useless, of course. Having a large number of positive reviews is still a positive signal but it is nowhere close to free from manipulation.
bragr ·8 hours ago
edit: it doesn't seem so. You just have use some weasel language:
>The final rule also bars a business from misrepresenting that the reviews on a review portion of its website represent all or most of the reviews submitted when reviews have been suppressed based upon their ratings or negative sentiment.
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/...
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capital_guy ·5 hours ago
The FTC continues to do the good, thankless work of making good public policy. I appreciate it.
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burningChrome ·8 hours ago
I guess they don't know about how people scam Amazon reviews by getting legit people to simply buy the product and leave a five star review and then get reimbursed for their purchase later by the company or the company the company hired to get these people to do this.
(From 2022) Inside the Underground Market for Fake Amazon Reviews
https://www.wired.com/story/fake-amazon-reviews-underground-...
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mk_chan ·3 hours ago
For positive reviews, a business will figure out customers who they already know had a positive experience (quick delivery, continuous usage, etc) and only send them invites to review. This is perfectly legal and the fundamental business model of many review websites - selling the ability to push invites and “manage” reviews.
For negative reviews - no business wants these, and customers with bad experiences are likely to post them by themselves.
What gets left out is the average experience because reviews are essentially cherry picked from the head and tail ends of the normal curve of experiences. This doesn’t render reviews useless, of course. Having a large number of positive reviews is still a positive signal but it is nowhere close to free from manipulation.
Show replies
gniv ·8 hours ago