MC Exclusive: Govt mulls compulsory fake review prevention system for e-commerce platforms

The senior bureaucrat also talked about dark patterns in e-commerce that manipulate user behavior into spending more where they don't want to.

The government is considering to make it compulsory for e-commerce platforms to adopt a system of preventing fake reviews based on its guidelines, a senior official said at Moneycontrol's Policy Next summit on January 18.

"You see 4.5 stars and you think it is a good product. You don't know who the seller is. Who is going to authenticate those stars? So we have developed standards in BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) for systems to manage fake reviews," said Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs.

"And next month, we are toying with the idea of making it compulsory that all e-commerce platforms should have systems where they manage fake reviews," he added.

The senior bureaucrat also talked about dark patterns in e-commerce that manipulate user behavior into spending more where they don't want to.

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"Last month, we issued guidelines for dark patterns. What are dark patterns? They are manipulative practices deployed by e-commerce platforms to manipulate the consumer behavior. You are nudged in a direction where you don't want to go. You might have a cart of Rs 5000, you see Rs 5 added when checking out," said Singh.

"In airline tickets, you are given travel insurance automatically. We are saying don't do this... If you want to subscribe, one click. If you want to unsubscribe, then 30 clicks," he added.

Singh also said that the government is going to come out with guidelines so that there is no 'greenwashing'.

"Then there is greenwashing. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for a green product. So people are putting their products in recyclable packages and calling it green," he said.

"We are coming out with guidelines in the next fortnight that this is greenwashing, please don't fool consumers. The consumer is paying 1.2 to 1.5 times more because he thinks it is a green product. But it is not a green product," he added.