Federal Court orders Amazon to turn over review, ratings docs to Competition Bureau

A new court order is requiring Amazon to hand internal records related to its review and ratings programs over to Canada's competition watchdog.

The court order issued by Chief Justice Paul Crampton earlier this week forces Amazon to give the Competition Bureau records prepared for senior management that delve into how star ratings, Amazon's Choice badges and bestseller labels are applied. 

The order also requires the Seattle-based tech giant to provide information about verified purchase and top reviewer badges.

The labels and programs the bureau appears to be interested in often feature prominently on product pages and can carry weight with consumers trying to decipher how reputable a seller is or how much they can trust a review.