x

Like our Facebook Page

   
Early Times Newspaper Jammu, Leading Newspaper Jammu
 
Breaking News :   Home Ministry to unveil robust strategy to curb infiltration along IB in Kathua, Samba | Education only can defeat darkness: LG Sinha | Waqf Bill tabled in LS; it deals with properties, not religion, says Rijiju | GOC Mishra visits Rajouri, assesses security situation | 90% public grievances received in 2024 redressed: GoI | Rail accidents came down to 81 in FY25: Vaishnaw | For organ donation employees entitled to 42-day special leave | Over 50 foreign varsities applied to UGC for approval: Pradhan in RS | 2 killed in highway accident | Gold trades flat at peak level | J&K Govt issues guidelines | DDMEO, NITI Aayog visits Govt ITI Baramulla for Evaluation Study | Delhi: Snake found coiled inside office in Jhandewalan, rescued, released into wild | Mir Imtiyaz Ul Aziz, Adil Fareed assume charge of ADCs Srinagar | IRS to augment disaster response on ICS pattern in US | Progressive Step | District administration Jammu hosts training session | DM Jammu pushes for strict enforcement of traffic rules at RTA meeting | Over 300 projects receive forest clearance in J&K | Maruti Suzuki to hike car prices by up to Rs 62,000 from April 8 | Indian Railways produces 19 per cent more locomotives in 2024-25 as compared to previous year | DST clarifies parliamentary responses on state science policies, refutes contradiction claims | Delhi: AQI drops to 'poor' category, maximum temperature settles at 36.4 degree C | Chief Justice for collaborated efforts to fight drug abuse | Union Minister Kiren Rijiju lauds Dr Andrabi for transforming J&K Waqf Board | Kavinder Gupta slams NC Govt over contradictory policies on fuel, fare hikes | J&K revises State Disaster Management Authority composition | HC refuses to quash FIR registered by CB in fraud case | IGNOU extends assignment submission deadline to April 30, 2025 | Property of drug peddler attached in Rajouri | Pakistan Army violates ceasefire after mine blast along LoC in Poonch | Indian Navy seizes 2,500 kg Narcotics | SCJS celebrates Navratras with devotion, culture, social service | Samba police arrests drug peddler, recovers 5.7 grams of heroin | BJP KDD calls on Chief Secretary, raises key issues concerning Kashmiri Pandit Community | SJVN Achieves COD for 241.77 MW Phase-I of 1000 MW Bikaner Solar Project | Navreh Mahotsav 2025 concludes with grand celebration | Samba police detains four vagrants near chitta hotspot, sent to District Jail Kathua | DDC inspects upcoming road, bridge, other projects | MSME Ministry implements common facility centre for apricot processing | Grand International Ramayana conclave held | Lawyer commits suicide in Haryana's Faridabad | JU releases latest edition of Multidisciplinary Journal 'Researcher' | Conclusion of two-day Workshop on Psychological First Aid | JU, Care-North organize hands-on workshop | Memorandum of Understanding inked between DBU, HI | NSS SMVDU volunteers participated in National Integration Camp | NAJK opens player registration for 2025-26 netball championships | Tawi Trekkers unveils 2025-26 adventure calendar | Yashasvi Jaiswal leaves Mumbai cricket for shock switch to Goa | Hockey India trims core group of women players from 65 to 40 | Paris Saint-Germain reaches French Cup final by rallying past Dunkerque 4-2 | Premier League to introduce semi-automated offside technology | Back Issues  
 
news details
Govt announces new norms to curb fake online reviews of products, services
11/21/2022 10:46:48 PM
Agencies

New Delhi, Nov 21: E-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart will have to voluntarily disclose all paid consumer reviews of products and services offered on their platforms, with the government bringing in new norms to curb fake reviews and help buyers make informed decisions.
However, the government has barred publication of reviews that “have been purchased and/or written by individuals employed for that purpose by the supplier or third party concerned”.
The BIS standards, prepared after extensive stakeholder consultations and to be effective from November 25, will be voluntary but the government will consider making them mandatory in case the menace of fake reviews continue on the online platforms.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Monday said the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formulated a new standard ‘IS 19000:2022’ for Online Consumer Reviews -- Principles and Requirement for their Collection, Moderation and Publication’.
The standards will be applicable to any organisation which publishes consumer reviews online, including suppliers of products and services that collect reviews from their own customers, a third party contracted by the supplier or an independent third party.
Singh said the BIS will come out with a certification process within the next 15 days to check whether an organisation is complying with these standards. E-commerce players can apply for the certification of this standard with the BSI.
“We are probably the first country in the world to formulate standard for online reviews,” Singh said, adding that many other countries are also struggling on how to handle the fake reviews.
“We don’t want to bulldoze the industry. We want to take the standard route. We will first see the voluntary compliance and then, if the menace continues to grow, we will, may be, make it mandatory in the future,” he said.
While noting that online reviews play a vital role in making purchase decisions on e-commerce platforms, Singh said the three prominent sectors where reviews -- be it in text, video or audio form -- plays an significant role are -- tour and travel; restaurants and eateries; and consumer durables.
The BIS has defined reviews as solicited and unsolicited. The person responsible for handling the review in any organisation will be called the review administrator.
Solicited review refers to consumers’ reviews of products or services as requested by the supplier or review administrator.
The secretary said that reviews should be legitimate, accurate and not misleading. Identity of those who are reviewing should not be disclosed without permission and the organisations should ensure that disclosure of information are transparent. The collection of reviews should be unbiased, he added.
“If a review is purchased or you are rewarding the person for writing the review, then that has to be clearly marked that as a purchased review,” Singh said.
The BIS has also listed out the steps for verification of a review author.
“The verification of the review author is important... there are websites in countries like Turkey, Moldova where there is a business of fake reviews. So these companies pay money and get reviews. If this is happening, that cannot take place,” Singh said.
Chief Commissioner of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) Nidhi Khare termed such purchased reviews as “fraud reviews”.
According to Singh, there are penal provisions in the Consumer Protection Act for unfair trade practices.
Since e-commerce involves a virtual shopping experience without any opportunity to physically view or examine the product, consumers heavily rely on reviews posted on platforms to see the opinion and experiences of users who have already purchased the goods or services.
However, fake reviews and star-ratings mislead consumers into buying online products and services.
The secretary said that companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Reliance Retail, Tata Sons, Amazon, Flipkart, Google, Meta, Mesho, Blinkit and Zepto were part of the consultation process and they have assured compliance with these standards.
Industry bodies like CII, FICCI, Assocham, Nasscom, ASCI, NRAI and CAIT were also consulted while formulating the standards.
  Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network  
  Comment on this Story  
 
 
 
Early Times Android App
STOCK UPDATE
  
BSE Sensex
NSE Nifty
 
CRICKET UPDATE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Home About Us Top Stories Local News National News Sports News Opinion Editorial ET Cetra Advertise with Us ET E-paper
 
 
J&K RELATED WEBSITES
J&K Govt. Official website
Jammu Kashmir Tourism
JKTDC
Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board
Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board
Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board
UTILITY
Train Enquiry
IRCTC
Matavaishnodevi
BSNL
Jammu Kashmir Bank
State Bank of India
PUBLIC INTEREST
Passport Department
Income Tax Department
JK CAMPA
JK GAD
IT Education
Web Site Design Services
EDUCATION
Jammu University
Jammu University Results
JKBOSE
Kashmir University
IGNOU Jammu Center
SMVDU