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FTC's rule banning fake online reviews goes into effect

(abcnews.go.com)
376 points indus | 3 comments | 22 Oct 24 15:21 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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bragr ◴[22 Oct 24 15:27 UTC] No.41915238[source]▶
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.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/...

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onlyrealcuzzo ◴[22 Oct 24 15:48 UTC] No.41915513[source]▶
How does this stop one of the most common practices?

* Step 1, take a product with a terrible rating

* Step 2, create a new SKU for the exact same product so it has no ratings

* Step 3, get a handful of fake 5-star reviews (in some way the FTC isn't going to crack down on)

* Step 4, blast the old terribly reviewed product that now has good reviews on marketing

* Step 5, get 10s of thousands of sales, $$$

* Step 6, let the terrible reviews pour in

Repeat to step 1 (possibly under a different brand name).

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Suppafly ◴[22 Oct 24 16:30 UTC] No.41915989[source]▶
Well step 3 is the part they just made illegal. If you are OK with breaking the law, nothing is going to stop you until you get caught and fined. Presumably the getting caught and fined part will be enough deterrent.
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1. onlyrealcuzzo ◴[22 Oct 24 16:53 UTC] No.41916217[source]▶
There's a difference between "fake as defined by the FTC which you will actually get in trouble for" and "fake".
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2. jasonlotito ◴[22 Oct 24 18:46 UTC] No.41917382[source]▶
It's your comment in the context of the FTC. You said it was fake, in the context of the FTC. Why are you debating yourself?
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3. onlyrealcuzzo ◴[22 Oct 24 19:54 UTC] No.41918041[source]▶
Please re-read. The FTC defining it as fake means nothing if the FTC does not, in practice, crack down on it regularly.

The FTC can say it's illegal to do X, and all companies can do X with impunity if the FTC, in practice, does not do anything about it when companies do X.