UK watchdog probes Amazon, Google for fake reviews of goods

U.K. regulators are investigating Google and Amazon over concerns the online giants aren’t doing enough to stop fake reviews of products and services on their platforms

LONDON -- U.K. regulators said on Friday that they're investigating Google and Amazon over concerns the online giants aren't doing enough to stop fake reviews of products and services on their platforms. The Competition and Markets Authority said it opened a formal investigation into whether the two companies broke U.K. consumer law by failing to protect shoppers. The watchdog started looking into phony reviews on some big websites last year - without identifying any specific ones - amid the pandemic-fueled boom in online shopping. “Our worry is that millions of online shoppers could be misled by reading fake reviews and then spending their money based on those recommendations,” the watchdog's chief executive Andrea Coscelli said in a press statement. “Equally, it’s simply not fair if some businesses can fake 5-star reviews to give their products or services the most prominence, while law-abiding businesses lose out.”