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MILAN (Reuters) – U. S. e-commerce giant Amazon said on Thursday it had filed court cases in Italy and Spain as it stepped up global efforts to shut down review corridors.
Amazon has long struggled with fake or manipulated reviews and the challenge has only gotten worse as more and more people flock to its site to buy coronavirus lockdowns.
Tens of thousands of other people have joined compromised channels on Telegram instant messaging, where anonymous intermediaries flag others to write glowing five-star reviews for products on Amazon in exchange for a monetary reward.
“We continued our proactive controls, invented new technologies and learning devices to stumble upon the bad guys, and located new tactics to hold them accountable,” Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of spouse services promotion, said in a statement.
In its first complaint of thieves in Europe, Amazon said it was targeting a “high-profile broker in Italy promoting fake reviews” but did not call the person.
The store said the defendant claimed to have created a network of other people willing to buy products from its store and post five-star reviews in exchange for a full refund.
Four- and five-star reviews can generate sales, especially if consumers understand them as unbiased.
Amazon also filed a civil lawsuit in Spain against AgenciaReviews, alleging that the Spain-based operator gave consumers a full refund once they published a fake five-star review.
AgenciaReviews said late Thursday that its channel only works as a test show and that buyers are not required at any point in the procedure to leave five-star reviews.
Amazon’s moves in Europe add to the growing number of lawsuits filed in the United States.
The company also said it had sent warnings to five in Germany directing visitors to a fake review corridor, adding that they have since all agreed to avoid the activity by signing a letter of resignation and withdrawal.
(Reporting via Agnieszka FlakEditing via Keith Weir)