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FTC's rule banning fake online reviews goes into effect

(abcnews.go.com)
374 points indus | 1 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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sidewndr46 ◴[22 Oct 24 16:33 UTC] No.41916033[source]▶
what qualifies a review as fake? If I write it, it's a review isn't it? The whole thing is subjective. Plenty of people love products I can't stand
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conductr ◴[22 Oct 24 16:44 UTC] No.41916117[source]▶
And how do they even audit it? Do they require only users who verifiably used/purchased the product to submit reviews? Do they require the reviewer to actually use the product? for sufficient amount of time so that the review is more than just "first impression"? So many loopholes, this won't change anything except perhaps a few big marketplaces but it's doubtful they will be able to police it
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sidewndr46 ◴[22 Oct 24 16:53 UTC] No.41916216[source]▶
That's actually a really good point. I can review a can opener in a few minutes. Either it opens the can or it doesn't. How would I ever review something like a Ford F-350? I don't even have a trailer heavy enough to test the towing capacity.
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1. conductr ◴[22 Oct 24 17:05 UTC] No.41916326[source]▶
I see a ton of 5 star reviews that just say something like "Super fast shipping!" and think, "OK, have you even opened the box? does it work? is this review for FedEx?"