Govt mulls way of protecting online consumers from 'reward'-based reviews

The BIS wants it make it obvious when reviews are based on rewards and easier to verify if the reviewer is 'real'

In a bid to make it easier for consumers to know whether the review they are reading of a product or service is entirely independent or based on the reviewers getting ‘rewards’, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has proposed a solution.

In addition, in a draft revising the Standards on Online Consumer Reviews: Principles and Requirements for Their Collection, Moderation and Publication, the BIS has suggested that the administrators of online sites should not account ratings collected with rewards when calculating the overall rating of a product or service.
 

Instead, these reviews should have a separate rating and have a different mark to make it clear to consumers that they are different from other reviews.
 

The move will have a far reaching impact in the online space as reviews form a key element in a consumer’s decision to buy and reviews straddle online sites in e-commerce, food delivery, lifestyle, clothing, and groceries, and a multitude of services.
 

Stakeholders have been asked to give their comments on the draft by November 10.

The draft gives examples of what constitutes a reward or ‘reward programme’. It could be a new product tester programme that lends a product to consumers to use for a period of time in return for a review.
 

A reward can take the form of cash or products or prizes in a competition such as a lottery style draw.

The BIS has put together an elaborate standard for reviews for which the administrator of the online site might have given a reward, irrespective of whether it is solicited or unsolicited.

So that consumers can get a fair rating of a product which enables them to compare different brands, the BIS has included a clause saying that ‘reviews collected with rewards’ should be excluded when calculating a product’s overall rating.

Instead, reviews collected by rewards should be given a separate overall rating to ensure transparency.

It also lays down rules specifying that, in case of reviews collected through rewards, the beneficiaries have to be selected  through a nondiscriminatory and unbiased procedure.

Further, the review will not depend on the content of the review submitted (it could be positive or negative).

Finally, the review administrator will have to specify the nature of the opportunity to receive an award and the terms and conditions.

The BIS has also devised a method to verify whether the unsolicited consumer reviewer is a ‘real person’ and to confirm if his or her contact details are genuine.

This can be done through a random sample of review authors to see if they are genuine and whether they meet the terms and conditions. If not, they can be flagged for further investigation.

Reviewers can be identified by sending an e-mail asking them to confirm their registration by clicking on the mail.

Their details can be verified through a programme that protects websites, through SMS, phone calls, geolocation or IP address, or by using a single-use e-mail address or captcha system.

THE DRAFT PROPOSALS
 

• Online sites should not account ratings collected with ‘rewards’ while calculating the overall rating of reviews of such products and services
• All reviews based on ‘rewards’ should display a mark so that readers can differentiate them with other reviews
• Online reviews through ‘rewards’ should have a separate rating list
• Rewards could be in cash, products or through a competition
• Formulate elaborate standards to ensure that a reviewer is a ‘real person’ with a real contact address