The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said that the government will create a framework to deal with the review of frauds on e-commerce websites.
The ministry said that “after studying the existing mechanism being adopted by e-commerce entities” India and globally available best practices”, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DOCA) will develop the framework, reports The Indian Express.
The announcement comes a day after Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh met several stakeholders on May 27 to discuss the issue of false reviews on e-commerce platforms.
Issues such as lack of disclosure in case of purchased reviews, unverified reviews and promotional reviews were considered during the meeting, which makes it difficult for customers to identify the real valuation.
According to a statement, in a meeting with various stakeholders such as e-commerce entities, consumer forums, law universities, lawyers, FICCI, CII, consumer rights activists and others, DoCA, in association with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), websites But discussed the magnitude of fake reviews and the way forward.
During the meeting, Manisha Kapoor, CEO, ASCI discussed various types of fraudulent and misleading reviews as well as how they affect consumer interest.
However, the statement added that consumers largely rely on reviews posted on e-commerce platforms to gauge the opinions and experiences of those who have already purchased products or services because e-commerce Virtual shopping is an experience with no opportunity to physically see or study. the product.
According to Singh, there are two main difficulties here, traceability, which ensures the legitimacy of reviewers, and the associated liability of the platform. He also said that in a fair and transparent manner, e-commerce players would also have to explain how they chose the reviews most relevant to performance.
All the stakeholders reportedly agreed that the issue should be looked into continuously and an adequate framework for false reviews should be created to handle the problem for consumer protection.
“Stakeholders of the e-commerce companies claimed that they have a framework by which they monitor fake reviews and would be happy to participate in developing a legal framework on the issue,” the statement said.
It should be noted that despite public outrage over the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, one industry that not only survived but thrived, showing unparalleled growth, is e-commerce.
Even after opening of physical stores, India’s e-commerce business is expected to grow at 21.5% by 2022.
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