Standard Regulating Reviews On E-commerce Platforms – Dodd-Frank, Consumer Protection Act

India has one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the
world and e-commerce transactions have steadily increased across
the nation during the past several years. Consumers heavily rely on
reviews posted on e-commerce platforms to understand the experience
of customers who have already purchased the goods or services, and
online reviews have significant influence over purchasing decisions
of the consumers.

The Department of Consumer Affairs
(“Department“) had constituted a
committee on 10^th June, 2022 to develop a framework for
checking fake and deceptive reviews in e-commerce transactions.
This committee consisted of various stakeholders including
e-commerce companies, industry associations, consumer
organizations, law chairs and industry players like Tata Sons,
Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance Retail, Google, Meta (Facebook), Swiggy and Zomato, as well as
industry bodies like CII, FICCI and NASSCOM.

Recognising the effects of false and misleading reviews and to
safeguard consumer interests in e-commerce, a framework titled
Indian Standard (IS) 19000:2022 ‘Online Consumer Reviews
— Principles and Requirements for their Collection,
Moderation and Publication
(“Standard“)¹ was launched by
the Department along with the Bureau of Indian Standards
(“BIS“) for safeguarding and protecting
consumer interest from fake and deceptive reviews in e-commerce.
The Standard has come into effect from November 25, 2022.

The Standard is applicable to:

1. Every online platform that publishes consumer reviews
   online;




2. Suppliers/sellers of goods and services who collect reviews
   from their own consumers;




3. A third party contracted by the suppliers/sellers; or




4. An independent third party.

All e-commerce platforms would initially be free to voluntarily
comply with the norm. In order to evaluate compliance with the
Standard, BIS will also create a conformity assessment scheme. When
the Standard is made mandatory, consumers will be able to file
complaints with the National Consumer Helpline, Consumer
Commissions, or the Central Consumer Protection Authority regarding
any entity that violates the Standard, as any such violation will
be considered to be an unfair trade practice or a violation of
consumer rights.

Following are some of the key points mentioned in the
Standard:

• Both the review author (i.e., the consumer who is writing the
  review to be published on the website) and the review administrator
  (i.e., organization or individual having the responsibility to
  manage the consumer review content) are given specific
  responsibilities under the Standard. For a review author, these
  include assurances that they have read and agree to the terms and
  conditions and are giving their contact information before
  publishing a review. For a review administrator, these include
  collecting and protecting personal information of the review author
  as well as staff training.

• The Standard outlines the duties of the entities, such as
  creating a code of practice to outline how the Standard and its
  guiding principles will be met and maintained and making this code
  available publicly to consumers at an easily accessible place;
  developing a written set of terms and conditions like
  accessibility, non-compliance, criteria and ensuring that the
  content of the review does not contain financial information
  capable of resulting in identity theft, marketing materials, among
  other things.

• The standard also outlines procedures for authenticating the
  identity of the review author through their email address,
  identification via phone call or SMS, confirmation of registration
  by clicking on a link, using a captcha system, etc. to determine
  the review author’s traceability and veracity.

• The Standard provides for processes that will need to be
  followed for collection, moderation and publication of reviews from
  consumers.

• Regarding moderation, the standard outlines both automated and
  manual modes of moderation as well as methods for analyzing review
  content.

• The criteria for publication includes considerations for the
  review administrator both during and after the publication process.
  In the publication process, parameters for review accuracy, default
  display, and weightage of ratings are defined.

• The Standard also allows review administrators to offer rewards
  to review authors subject to the condition that such reviews are
  separately marked.

• Once a review is placed and made live on a website, customers
  won’t be allowed to change it. Additionally, they must abide by
  the general rules as well as the rules specific to the
  website.

If an e-commerce entity wants to check whether their website is
adhering to the Standard, they can go to the BIS and get it checked
and get certified. But if they do not adhere to the Standard and if
they are indulging into a practice which can be termed as an unfair
trade practice, then a consumer court can take penal action under
the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Footnote

1. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1877733

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.