Amazon has won the first civil case in Italy against fake reviews. This was decided by a judgment of the Milan court, which punished those who had facilitated the publication of 5-star ratings on the website of the e-commerce giant. The judgment led to the closure of the Realreviews.it site and prohibited its operator from opening others with the same intentions. The site owner acted in violation of competition law, thereby causing harm to Amazon and its customers. According to the ruling, Realreviews.it offered potential reviewers a refund for the products in exchange for a review.
The company explained in a statement that this legal action is part of Amazon's broader, ongoing efforts to combat fake reviews globally. Last year, Amazon took action against 44 criminals in Europe, filing nine new lawsuits in Spain, Germany and France. “The judgment of the Milan Court marks an important step in our fight to protect customers against fake reviews. Our goal is to ensure that every review on the Amazon store is trustworthy and reflects real-world consumer experiences,” said Claire O’Donnell, Director of Selling Partner Trust and Store Identity at Amazon. In 2015, Amazon filed its first lawsuit against fake review brokers. It has since created global teams of lawyers, expert investigators and analysts to pursue fake review brokers, stopping the phenomenon at its source.
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