The FTC is banning fake reviews, false testimonials and all sorts of shady consumer deception with an ominous sounding 'final rule'

HardwareThe FTC is banning fake reviews, false testimonials and all sorts of shady consumer deception with an ominous sounding ‘final rule’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

When it comes to deciding on your next purchase, be that PC hardware or otherwise, you’ll probably be leaning pretty heavily on reviews to make your decision. But it won’t come as too much of a surprise when I say that some reviews are less trustworthy than others, with obvious bot accounts, paid reviews and fake testimonials muddying the waters.

Finally, the rule prohibits businesses from using “groundless legal threats, physical threats, intimidation or certain false public accusations to prevent or remove a negative consumer review.”

In terms of penalties for breaching the rule, the FTC says that this new set of prohibitions will “enhance deterrence and strengthen FTC enforcement actions”, and citesa previous Supreme Court decisionthat it says has hindered its ability to seek monetary relief for consumers up until this point.

“Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan.

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Given the flood of misleading review content across the internet, this tightening of the FTC’s position should hopefully go some way in deterring US businesses from acting in an unscrupulous manner in regards to promoting their products.

As someone who writes many a hardware review, I can’t help but cheer for the principles of fairness, proper disclosure and consumer rights receiving some beefed-up protections, at least as far as the FTC is concerned.

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