Bundeskartellamt launches sector inquiry into user reviews

The Bundeskartellamt has launched a sector inquiry into online user reviews.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “As well as prices, online user reviews are the most important criterion influencing consumers in their online purchases. Many consumers also rely on the reviews of other users in the internet when choosing a doctor, craftsman or restaurant. There are indications that user reviews are frequently faked or manipulated. The primary aim of our sector inquiry is therefore to find out which review systems are particularly prone to manipulation or fake and to what extent there might be violations of consumer law.”

Investigations and media reports often show that in many cases online user reviews are not authentic, e. g. because they are computer-generated or because the user writing the review receives compensation without this being made transparent to consumers. If reviews which are not authentic lead consumers to make the wrong business decisions, this can constitute a violation of consumer law.

In the coming months the Bundeskartellamt will carry out oral and written enquiries of several internet platform operators which publish user reviews and/or offer user review services. The results of the investigations will be published later in a report.

The Bundeskartellamt can carry out investigations in the area of consumer protection and thus identify possible violations of consumer law or shortcomings in the enforcement of consumer law. However, it does not have the power to eliminate the violations of law it detects by official decree (cf. press release of 12 June 2017).

The user review sector inquiry is the Bundeskartellamt’s third sector inquiry in the area of consumer protection after the inquiry into comparison websites, which has already been concluded (cf. press release of 11 April 2019), and the ongoing inquiry into smart TVs (cf. press release of 13 December 2017).