Amazon undertakes measures to combat fake reviews, enhancing consumer trust

In a significant move to protect online shoppers, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured formal undertakings from Amazon to strengthen its systems for detecting and removing fake reviews. 

This follows similar commitments from Google earlier this year and marks a key milestone in the CMA’s ongoing efforts to tackle misleading online content.

An undertaking, in the CMA’s context, is a formal and legally binding commitment made by a business to address regulatory concerns - often in place of formal enforcement action or litigation. It’s essentially a promise to change or improve practices to ensure compliance with consumer or competition law.

Under this undertaking, and in line with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC), Amazon has agreed to:

• enhance detection systems to identify fake reviews and “catalogue abuse” (where sellers attach positive reviews from unrelated products to boost ratings)
• enforce tough sanctions against businesses and users who manipulate reviews, including bans from selling or posting on the platform
• improve reporting tools to make it easier for consumers and businesses to flag suspicious content.

Why it matters

The CMA’s action reflects growing concern over the influence of online reviews, which are estimated to impact £23 billion in UK consumer spending annually. With the DMCC now in force, the CMA has greater powers to act independently, issue fines, and demand redress - signalling a new era of accountability for all digital platforms.

This development sets a clear precedent: even the largest corporations are not exempt. The obligations imposed are not only extensive, requiring proactive detection systems, enforcement mechanisms, and improved reporting tools, but they also apply broadly.

Businesses that merely display third-party platform reviews, such as Trustpilot or Google Reviews, are not immune. Under the strengthened consumer protection regime introduced by the DMCC, platforms and businesses alike must take proactive steps to ensure the integrity of online reviews or face significant regulatory consequences. Now is the time for all businesses to critically assess their review practices and ensure full alignment with the CMA’s expectations.

Our Consumer team provides strategic, practical support to help businesses navigate the growing complexities of e-commerce compliance. We offer tailored audits to assess your compliance with key consumer protection requirements - including the ban on fake reviews - and assist in drafting clear, effective internal and external policies, such as those covering incentivised reviews. Our goal is to help you remain fair, transparent, and fully compliant. Please scan the below barcode to see how our Consumer team could help your business.