Dive Brief:
- In the fight over fake reviews, Amazon and the Better Business Bureau have filed a joint lawsuit against ReviewServiceUSA.com for allegedly selling fraudulent positive reviews to “bad actors” on Amazon product pages and Better Business Bureau profiles, the e-commerce giant announced Thursday.
- In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the two entities alleged that ReviewServiceUSA.com used counterfeit customer accounts to post fake positive reviews to “misleadingly inflate” product or business rankings and ratings.
- The two companies are aiming to use the lawsuit to shutter ReviewServiceUSA’s business, per the press release. The legal action is Amazon’s first joint lawsuit filed against fake review brokers. ReviewServiceUSA did not immediately respond to Retail Dive’s request for comment regarding the lawsuit.
Dive Insight:
With the lawsuit that Amazon has filed in conjunction with the Better Business Bureau, the e-commerce company continues to enlist the courts in its quest to quash fake review posters. In 2022, the company sued AppSally and Rebatest, alleging that they coordinated free items or money in exchange for posting false product reviews.
In its lawsuit announcement, Amazon noted that it “invests significant resources” to stop fake reviews, including using machine-learning models and investigators to determine whether reviews are genuine.
“Amazon is committed to ensuring reviews remain a trustworthy, insightful resource for consumers worldwide and we have zero tolerance for any attempts to mislead our customers through fake reviews,” Claire O’Donnell, Amazon’s director of selling partner trust and store integrity, said in a statement.
This recent lawsuit builds upon Amazon’s previous work with the Better Business Bureau to fight fraud. In October 2022, the two launched a campaign to help shoppers spot impersonation scams during the holiday season. The following month, the Better Business Bureau’s Institute for Marketplace Trust, Amazon and Capital One partnered to help consumers identify and report scams using the organization’s Scam Tracker tool.
While Amazon fights fake reviews on one hand, the e-commerce giant is rolling out tools to make reviews more accessible on the other. Last August, Amazon introduced an AI-powered tool to summarize product reviews for customers.
