Since 28 May 2022, the Omnibus Directive ((EU) 2019/2161) has made fake and misleading consumer reviews an unfair commercial practice everywhere in the EU. If you show reviews, you must also explain whether and how you check that they are genuine.
What is banned in all circumstances
Two practices were added to the blacklist of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC, Annex I, points 23b and 23c):
- Stating that reviews come from consumers who actually used or bought the product without taking reasonable and proportionate steps to check that they did.
- Submitting, or commissioning someone else to submit, false reviews or endorsements, or misrepresenting reviews or social media endorsements to promote products.
"Misrepresenting" includes publishing only the positive reviews and hiding the negative ones, and presenting incentivised reviews as spontaneous.
What you must disclose
Where you give access to consumer reviews, you must say whether and how you ensure they come from consumers who actually used or bought the product (Article 7(6)). Explain, near the reviews or one click away:
- Whether reviews are verified, for example only customers with an order can review.
- How reviews are collected, moderated and ranked.
- Whether all reviews are published, including negative ones, and if not, why some are rejected.
- Whether any reviewer received an incentive, such as a discount or a free product.
Good practice
- Invite reviews from every buyer, not only the happy ones.
- Label incentivised reviews clearly, or do not incentivise at all.
- Never write reviews yourself, buy them, or swap them with other sellers.
- Do not remove or bury negative reviews; answer them.
- Keep records of your verification so you can show regulators how it works (see Reports).
Marketplaces and review platforms also have duties under the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) to act on notices of illegal content, and influencer posts that are paid for must be identified as advertising. See Consumer Protection for the fines that apply.
This guide is general information about EU rules, not legal advice. Requirements can differ by country and by business: check with your data protection authority or a lawyer for your case.