Trustpilot to tackle fake reviews

Trustpilot is a well-known review site which allows consumers to publish their thoughts and feedback on the services or goods provided by a business. Users can rate the business out of 5 stars and leave a written review which contributes towards the business’ overall rating.

Until recently, anyone could set up an account and post a review without any verification of who they were, or whether had been an actual customer of the business they were reviewing. This could often lead to the business challenging whether the review was genuine or not.

Trustpilot has just introduced a ‘consumer verification tool’ which will allow users to verify their identity before they can publish a review.

This tool is not exactly a new development and is rather widely used in other industries already. Many organisations use a software which requires the user to submit their photographic identification, like a passport, and then take a selfie which is uploaded. The software uses facial recognition to determine if the person in the selfie is the person in the passport photo. Millions of people would have done this last summer to register for an NHS account and book their covid-19 vaccination.

Not only will Trustpilot's new verification allow businesses to be more certain that any reviews are genuine but it will also prevent businesses from bolstering their ratings with fake reviews. In what is considered an unethical practice, some businesses will either by themselves or by paying others, publish fake reviews with high ratings to convince genuine potential customers to pick them over the many competitors. The aim is that with this verification, this practice will be more difficult or cease entirely.

Trustpilot was in the headlines last year for refusing to remove a libellous review back in February 2021. It seems however that they are now taking a more proactive stance to the material which is published on their forum. 

There is a possibility that the reduction in fake reviews could mean that there are less libel claims brought against review sites. However, there are likely to be plenty of sites which do not follow Trustpilot's lead, where fake reviews could still be posted. 

If your business has been affected by a fake review, we would like to be able to help. Contact us today to speak to one of our expert lawyers.