Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

To combat fake reviews, Amazon is suing its own merchants

amazon new streaming service version 1475769591 building
Ken Wolter / Shutterstock
Aware that fake product reviews threaten the very integrity of its massive online shopping empire, Amazon has been making efforts to eliminate them from its site by suing businesses that sell them to merchants.

But now it’s going after the merchants, too.

Related Videos

That’s right, if you’re a seller that posts fake reviews for your own goods on Amazon, or if you buy fake reviews for your products, legal action could be just around the corner.

Taking merchants to court appears to be part of a new strategy by the Seattle-based company, with at least three – one in California, one in Pennsylvania, and another in Wisconsin – hit with lawsuits in recent days, TechCrunch said. Fake reviews reportedly comprised up to 45 percent of all the reviews on each of the merchants’ stores.

Amazon has increasingly been filing lawsuits against businesses offering merchants positive reviews of their products for a fee. But this is the first time the company is going after sellers – the very people that help the company make money.

Despite assurances by the online shopping company that only a very small percentage of reviews across its entire site are fake, it knows that for the site to maintain the trust of customers, it has to deal swiftly with bogus reviews where it finds them. While Amazon has always suspended or closed the accounts of sellers caught posting fake reviews, its response has become altogether more determined with the threat of legal action.

“The vast majority of reviews on Amazon are authentic, helping millions of customers make informed buying decisions every day,” the company said in a statement. Referencing its latest move targeting merchants, it said it wants to “eliminate the incentives for sellers to engage in review abuse and shut down this ecosystem around fraudulent reviews in exchange for compensation,” adding, “Lawsuits are only one piece of the puzzle.”

Editors' Recommendations

Amazon is spending big in an effort to ensure timely holiday deliveries
couple con amazon out of tech goods boxes

Amazon says it expects to incur “several billion dollars” of additional costs this holiday season in order to ensure customers receive their orders on time.

Andy Jassy, who replaced Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as CEO of the company in July, said this week that the online shopping behemoth would be spending big to deal with “labor supply shortages, increased wage costs, global supply chain issues, and increased freight and shipping costs.” The spending is meant to ensure there is minimal impact on customers and selling partners in the coming months.

Read more
Amazon is planning to open its largest retail stores to date
Amazon logo on the headquarters building.

Amazon is planning to dramatically expand its brick-and-mortar footprint with the opening of large sites similar to department stores, a report claimed on Thursday, August 19.

The company that made its name with online shopping has in recent years taken a growing interest in physical outlets, opening bookstores, grocery stores, and premises selling its growing range of electronics, among other items.

Read more
This was the most popular item during Amazon’s Prime Day mega sale
Amazon Key In-Home Delivery

After moving to the fall last year due to the pandemic, Amazon’s annual Prime Day shopping event returned to its summer slot in 2021.

It’s already over for this year (actually, some late deals are still available) and Amazon has released a slew of stats showing how we shopped during its latest two-day mega sale.

Read more