Several negative comments posted on Google are a crushing blow for the traders concerned. The phenomenon is indeed well known, professionals have become accustomed to conducting raids to post laudatory or very critical reviews of an establishment, all without any link to reality.
An effective weapon against fake reviews?
These behaviors are theoretically sanctioned by fines of up to 75,000 euros for a natural person, and 375,000 euros for a company. In practice, however, the law hardly applies. However, things could well change in France, with the establishment of a tool called Polygraph, which will soon be used by the repression of fraud.
The DGCCRF will first focus on false positive comments. Specifically, the software extracts data and detects suspicious comments. Officials can then focus on these contentious opinions in order to see more clearly.
Attractive on paper, this system could present some risks in terms of personal data. Indeed, the information collected could infringe the right to online privacy. Appeals before the Constitutional Council could then determine whether its use is possible or not.
In detail, it is the datascrapping which would be in question. The technique of collecting a lot of public data for the purposes of analysis, storage, or resale is not in itself illegal, but its legal definition remains rather vague. Jurisprudence should therefore settle this uncertainty soon.
Anyway, the subject of fake Google reviews is a huge issue for SMEs and freelancers. According to a study conducted by researchers at the Ohio State University, a large part of the evaluation of an institution is played from the first ratings received. This reality is cause for concern for merchants, especially if they are victims of malicious actors who want to tarnish their reputation.
A real tool of influence
In any case, online evaluations remain a veritable machine for influencing. Recently, scientists from Pennsylvania State University conducted a search on Amazon. They found that under certain conditions, reviews that are deemed most helpful by users can lead to increased sales.
They also noted that the influence of the best ratings is increased tenfold when their opinions correspond to the general feeling of consumers. This in itself is not always negative, and customers remained generally satisfied with their purchases.
