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Dive Overview:
- In a battle over fake reviews, Amazon and the Better Business Bureau have filed a joint lawsuit against ReviewServiceUSA.com for selling fake positive reviews to “bad actors” on Amazon product pages and Better Business Bureau profiles, the e-commerce giant announced on Thursday.
- In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the groups allege that ReviewServiceUSA.com used fake customer accounts to post false positive reviews and “misleadingly inflate” rankings and ratings of products and companies.
- According to a press release, the two companies aim to use the lawsuit to shut down ReviewServiceUSA's operations. The lawsuit is the first joint lawsuit filed by Amazon against a fake review broker. ReviewServiceUSA did not immediately respond to Retail Dive's request for comment on the lawsuit.
Dive Insights:
Amazon continues to use the courts to root out fake reviewers, working with the Better Business Bureau in lawsuits. In 2022, the company sued AppSally and Rebatest, alleging that they offered free products or money in exchange for submitting false product reviews.
In announcing the lawsuit, Amazon said it has “devoted significant resources” to thwarting fake reviews, including using machine learning models and human investigators to determine whether reviews are genuine.
“Amazon strives to ensure reviews remain a trusted and helpful source of information for consumers around the world, and we have zero tolerance for any attempts to mislead customers with fake reviews,” Claire O'Donnell, Amazon's director of seller partner trust and store integrity, said in a statement.
This latest lawsuit builds on Amazon's previous collaboration with the Better Business Bureau to fight fraud: In October 2022, the two launched a campaign to help shoppers spot identity theft scams during the holiday season. The following month, the Better Business Bureau's Marketplace Trust Institute, Amazon, and Capital One partnered to help consumers identify and report scams using the organization's fraud tracking tool.
While Amazon is fighting fake reviews on the one hand, it is also rolling out tools to make them more accessible. Last August, Amazon introduced an AI-powered tool that summarizes product reviews for customers.
