New Delhi: The government is considering making it mandatory for e-commerce companies to follow quality norms for consumer reviews after voluntary efforts failed to effectively curb fake reviews, a top official said on Monday.
The government had issued new quality norms for e-tailers a year ago, barring them from publishing paid reviews and demanding disclosure of such promotional material.
But fake reviews of products and services are still surfacing on e-commerce platforms, said Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
Khare said, “It has been more than a year since the voluntary standard on online reviews was notified. Some institutions claim that they are complying with it.However, fake reviews are still being published."
"To protect consumer interests, we now want to make these standards mandatory," he said, adding that the ministry has scheduled a meeting with e-commerce firms and consumer organizations on May 15 to discuss the proposed move. .
The ministry's Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in November 2022 prepared and released a new standard for "online consumer reviews" for reviews "purchased and/or written by persons employed for that purpose by the supplier or a related third party". Banned on publication. ,
With no chance to physically inspect products, consumers rely heavily on online reviews when making purchases. Misleading reviews and ratings may lead them to purchase goods or services based on incorrect information.The proposed move comes against the backdrop of India's booming online retail sector. According to a report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, the sector is projected to grow from US$70 billion in 2022 to US$325 billion by 2030.
The government had issued new quality norms for e-tailers a year ago, barring them from publishing paid reviews and demanding disclosure of such promotional material.
But fake reviews of products and services are still surfacing on e-commerce platforms, said Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
Khare said, “It has been more than a year since the voluntary standard on online reviews was notified. Some institutions claim that they are complying with it.However, fake reviews are still being published."
"To protect consumer interests, we now want to make these standards mandatory," he said, adding that the ministry has scheduled a meeting with e-commerce firms and consumer organizations on May 15 to discuss the proposed move. .
The ministry's Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in November 2022 prepared and released a new standard for "online consumer reviews" for reviews "purchased and/or written by persons employed for that purpose by the supplier or a related third party". Banned on publication. ,
With no chance to physically inspect products, consumers rely heavily on online reviews when making purchases. Misleading reviews and ratings may lead them to purchase goods or services based on incorrect information.The proposed move comes against the backdrop of India's booming online retail sector. According to a report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, the sector is projected to grow from US$70 billion in 2022 to US$325 billion by 2030.
