LONDON - After the inquiry, British authorities said on Friday that Google has agreed to tackle fake online reviews by penning harsher penalties for dishonest reviewers and businesses that want to exploit them.

The Competition and Markets Authority disclosed that Google has committed to impose "strict measures" to detect and remove fake reviews so that it can quickly recognize and examine businesses and reviewers seeking to profit from such fraudulent posts.

Google will delete all reviews made by people who habitually post fake or misleading reviews, whether positive or negative, for businesses in the U.K. Those reviewers will also be banned from posting new reviews, no matter where they are located.

Firms trying to boost their star ratings artificially will face penalties. They will get warning alerts on Google profiles and be barred from getting new reviews. Also, the CMA said if they keep up fraudulently reviewing, all reviews will be wiped out—those from the last six months or even older.

Google is bringing in a feature that lets users quickly and simply flag suspicious reviews, including those that involve paying or incentivizing for positive feedback.
"These enhancements to Google create robust processes that enable people to have confidence in reviews and make informed decisions," said Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the watchdog organization. "It also helps those changes in providing a level playing field for businesses competing on fair grounds."

According to Google, its "longstanding investments to combat fraudulent content allow us to block millions of fake reviews each year—often before they can go live." In a statement, the company said its "work with regulators around the world, including the CMA, forms part of our ongoing efforts to tackle fake content and malicious actors."

It has since emerged that an independent investigation into Amazon for fake reviews is underway. The probes, which were launched in 2021, are to check if the firms breached U.K. consumer law by failing to protect shoppers. This inquiry into fake reviews on some of the biggest websites was started amid a boom in online shopping to which the coronavirus pandemic has since driven.

Fake reviews have been around for a long time on the internet. In response, several online travel and shopping companies joined forces to fight phony reviews. U.S. authorities have also been trying to tackle the problem. The Federal Trade Commission banned buying and selling such reviews and imposed fines on businesses and people involved in this work.

Reviews are usually traded within private social media groups. These interactively involve brokers and businesses (which readily want to pay) among themselves. Sometimes, generated reviews are sprinkled by companies, which entice customers to take favorable action by offering incentives such as gift cards.