The maximum fine is 350,000 yuan! Amazon and the FTC are cracking down

Both Amazon and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are taking action against fake reviews.

The maximum fine is 350,000 yuan, and the FTC policy is set

Some cross-border e-commerce sellers may know that the FTC proposed a policy against fake reviews in 2022. According to the latest news, the final rules of the policy have now been finalized. It is reported that the rule will take effect 60 days after it is published in the U.S. Federal Register.

The policy is called the Final Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials . It is worth noting that if the rule is violated, the FTC can impose a fine of up to $50,000 (350,000 yuan) for each violation .

The rules are as follows:

False or Fake Consumer Reviews, Consumer Testimonials, and Celebrity Testimonials. The final rule targets fake reviews and testimonials, such as those generated by artificial intelligence or by people who have no actual experience with the business or its products or services, or who misrepresent the experiences given to the business or its products or services. It prohibits businesses from creating or selling such reviews or testimonials. It also prohibits them from purchasing such reviews, obtaining reviews from company insiders, or disseminating such testimonials when the business knew or should have known that the review or testimonial was false.

Purchasing positive or negative reviews. The final rule prohibits businesses from providing compensation or other incentives to consumers in exchange for writing a review that expresses a particular sentiment, whether positive or negative.

Insider Reviews and Consumer Testimonials. The final rule prohibits certain reviews and testimonials written by company insiders if they do not clearly and conspicuously disclose the provider’s substantial connection to the business. It prohibits executives or managers from writing such reviews and testimonials. It also prohibits businesses from disseminating testimonials that the business should have known were written by an executive, manager, employee, or agent. Finally, it imposes compliance requirements when executives or managers solicit consumer reviews from their immediate family members or employees or agents, or when they tell an employee or agent to solicit reviews from a relative and that solicitation results in an immediate family member of the employee or agent writing a review.

Company-controlled review sites. The final rule prohibits a business from falsely representing that a website or entity it controls provides independent reviews or opinions about a class of products or services that includes its own products or services.

Blocking Reviews. The final rule prohibits businesses from using unfounded legal threats, physical threats, intimidation, or certain false public accusations to block or remove negative consumer reviews. The final rule also prohibits businesses from falsely representing that the reviews in the review section of their website are representative of all or a majority of the reviews submitted when the reviews are blocked because of their rating or negative sentiment.

Abuse of false social media metrics. The final rule prohibits anyone from selling or buying false social media influence metrics, such as followers or views generated by bots or hijacked accounts. This prohibition is limited to situations where the buyer knows or should know that the metric is false and misrepresents the buyer’s influence or importance for a business purpose.

Amazon is also cracking down and recently filed a new lawsuit

As we all know, Amazon has always had zero tolerance for fake reviews. According to official news, Amazon recently filed another lawsuit to prevent fake reviews from flowing into consumers.

Product reviews are at the heart of the Amazon shopping experience, providing customers with valuable insights and honest opinions from other shoppers. Amazon understands the critical role these reviews play in helping consumers make informed purchasing decisions and is committed to maintaining the credibility of reviews.

However, the rise of fake review brokers erodes customer trust and jeopardizes the success of sales partners. These bad actors operate fraudulent businesses that facilitate the posting of false reviews with the intent to deceive customers and provide an unfair advantage to those willing to engage in illegal activity.

As a result, in recent years, Amazon has been cracking down on people who violate its policies, including suspensions, bans, or legal action.

The first step is to detect and prevent fake reviews. Advanced technology helps Amazon monitor and enforce its policies to ensure that only authentic reviews are published. In fact, in 2023, Amazon proactively blocked more than 250 million suspected fake reviews worldwide.

Amazon also cracks down on those who try to profit from fake reviews. The company filed its first lawsuit against fake review brokers in 2015 and continues to hold fraudsters accountable through legal means. In 2023, Amazon took legal action against more than 150 bad actors who attempted to abuse reviews in the United States, China, and Europe. In July 2024, Amazon filed its first joint lawsuit against review brokers with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The lawsuit seeks to hold an illegal business called ReviewServiceUSA.com accountable for facilitating false reviews against Amazon stores, the BBB, and other legitimate companies and organizations.

“At Amazon, we understand that businesses of all sizes rely on product reviews to attract customers and grow their brands,” said Claire O’Donnell, head of Amazon Selling Partner Trust and Store Integrity. “In addition to our proactive controls, this legal action ensures we hold these bad actors accountable, stop their illegal schemes at the source, and prevent them from harming customers inside and outside of Amazon’s stores.”

In addition to the joint lawsuit with the BBB, Amazon has filed multiple lawsuits this year against fake review brokers who attempt to facilitate fake reviews for Amazon stores and other companies. In Amazon v. AMZ Mastery, filed in May 2024, the defendants sold fake product reviews, fake seller feedback, and other fake content to bad actors operating Amazon sales accounts in Amazon's global store. The defendants also sold fake "helpful" votes on fake reviews to indicate that the reviews were useful for purchasing decisions. The more "helpful" votes on a review, the higher that review was placed on the product listing page.

In a lawsuit filed against an illegal company called Buyvotesforonlinecontest.com, the defendants similarly sold fake “helpful” tickets as well as fake “down votes.” This fraudulent service consisted of the defendants clicking the “report” button next to negative product reviews on the bad actor’s product listing page in an attempt to have those reviews removed so that their overall product rating would go up. Amazon’s professional investigators were able to track down these bad actors and then take action against them.

In March, Amazon obtained its first judgment in a case against Auction Sentinel, a fraudulent company that facilitated fake seller feedback, resulting in the transfer of the website domain to Amazon. More recently, Amazon filed lawsuits against Lotstrade and ReviewerAgency, both of which were run by defendants that provided fake reviews and other fake content in Amazon stores. Lotstrade is also a searchable database where defendants post products from bad actors and solicit reviewers to leave fake reviews in exchange for a full product refund.

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