Government plans to make anti-fake review rules mandatory for e-commerce firms

The government is considering to make it mandatory for e-commerce companies to comply with quality norms for consumer reviews after a voluntary push failed to effectively curb fake reviews, a top official said on Monday.

The government issued the new quality norms for e-tailers a year ago, prohibiting them from publishing paid reviews and demanding disclosure of such promotional content.

But fake reviews of products and services on e-commerce platforms are still slipping through, said Nidhi Khare, Secretary at the Consumer Affairs Ministry.