Amazon, Expedia, Booking.com, TripAdvisor and other major online platforms are looking to crack down on false reviews. Collectively known as the Coalition for Trusted Reviews, the firms will share information and use AI-led tools to reduce the amount of misleading or fraudulent content posted to their sites.
The move follows concerns regarding AI-based chatbots and other artificial intelligence-led programs being utilised to review products or services, with those behind them earning a profit and misleading consumers into purchasing poor-quality products.
A recently published government report claims that consumers could be spending £312m each year on products courtesy of fake reviews, with up to 15% of reviews on e-commerce platforms in popular categories (including consumer electronics and other home goods) being fake.
The UK government is hoping that the new Digital Markets, Competiton and Consumer Bill, which is currently going through parliament, will help firms resist the publication of fake reviews.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is exploring similar proposals.
Source: BBC News