Italy combats fake online reviews for restaurants and hotels

For would-be reviewers, Italy’s draft legislation presents challenges, including verifiable ID and evidence of visits to the location they wish to render judgment on.

In an effort to curb fraudulent or sponsored reviewers, Italy’s government on January 14 revealed a draft law to control web reviews of hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions, Reuters reported.

For would-be reviewers, the law—which requires parliamentary approval to take effect—introduces several challenges, including having to present valid ID as well as evidence of visits to the location they wish to render judgment on.

Reviews must be uploaded two weeks following the visit in issue and can be deleted should they be false or, in any other event, two years following their publication. The measure did not specify who would determine whether a criticism was untrue.

Italy’s Parliament is empowered to change the proposed legislation, which will also outlaw paid-for or sponsored reviews based on rewards, an unethical practice that is quite common in society.

“Today marks an important step for the protection of our businesses,” declared Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche.

Despite the current prohibition on fake reviews, enforcing these rules presents challenges. The measure proposes assigning Italy’s antitrust watchdog ultimate fines and the responsibility of monitoring reviews.

While several business lobbies applauded the proposed rules, some expressed concerns about privacy issues and the prohibition on anonymous reviews, which they believed would significantly reduce the volume of online comments about hotels and restaurants.

Michele Carrus, chairman of consumer group Federconsumatori, told Reuters, “Fake reviews are a problem for fair competition between companies because they can have a big impact on sales and are also a problem for consumers who can be misled.”.

However, experts say that it will be difficult to monitor compliance with the new rules. After all, it costs hotels or restaurants practically nothing to shoot a video for an influencer, blogger, or trusted expert user on Google Maps and then get a 5-star review from them for a fee. Then, the blogger will provide the facts about the stay, ID card confirmation, and a photo report.

Any new laws in this niche are necessary, as a truthful assessment of an establishment is a guarantee of the right choice by a tourist, a match between expectations and reality, and a positive user experience. 

Simultaneously, evaluating commercial establishments and service companies is an integral part of promoting a brand or business. Therefore, digital marketing companies provide this service as part of their offerings. They will be able to adapt to the new conditions and rules.

However, the new law is likely to put an end to the possibility of getting a large number of 5-star reviews from fake users for a cheap price.