The DMCCA 2024 and fake reviews

What do you make of the CMA’s evolving approach to online reviews and catalogue abuse? How significant is this shift under the new consumer protection regime?

"With the introduction of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) – a very wide-reaching piece of legislation which is coming into force in phases – there are two key things happening: consumer protection in the digital world is being substantially heightened, and the CMA has been granted direct enforcement powers with real teeth to them. It’s a hugely significant shift on both counts, and means that we’re seeing a clear move by the CMA from guidance and warnings to direct enforcement and an attempt to proactively shape the digital marketplace."

What legal risks do UK retailers or review platforms now face if found to be hosting or enabling fake reviews or catalogue hijacking?

"Retailers and platforms face increased scrutiny as the DMCCA explicitly bans fake reviews, and also places a positive obligation on businesses that publish consumer reviews to take such proportionate steps as are necessary to proactively tackle banned reviews. Anyone found guilty of submitting, commissioning, publishing or facilitating fake reviews could face substantial fines, reputational damage, and bans from selling on certain platforms. As we have seen, the CMA is actively monitoring compliance, so enforcement actions could escalate. Whilst a maximum level fine is only likely to be imposed in very serious circumstances, it is worth keeping in mind that the CMA can now fine a business that infringes consumer protection law up to 10% of their global turnover. A sobering thought for the big digital players."

For smaller retailers or independent sellers, what practical steps can they take to ensure they stay on the right side of the law?

"It’s worth noting that the CMA has granted businesses a three-month grace period (until July 2025) to get their compliance processes in respect of fake reviews in order. Smaller retailers and independent sellers should be using this time to put in place proactive measures to ensure compliance, such as implementing robust review verification processes, ensuring incentivised reviews are clearly disclosed, monitoring product listings to prevent catalogue hijacking, training their staff, and ensuring any third-party review platforms they use are themselves adhering to CMA guidelines."

Are businesses legally responsible for user-generated content (like reviews) if it turns out to be fraudulent? Where does liability lie?

"Businesses that publish user-generated content, including reviews, are responsible for ensuring such content does not mislead consumers. The CMA now requires platforms to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove fraudulent reviews, and failure to do so could result in enforcement action, with liability falling on both the platform hosting the reviews and the business benefiting from them. The person submitting the review may also be in breach of the DMCCA, but the CMA’s primary focus is likely to be on the businesses involved, in order to tackle the issue at scale and set a clear precedent as to the consequences of non-compliance."

Is “review hijacking” – as described by the CMA – something you think businesses are fully aware of as a compliance issue?

"It seems that many businesses remain unaware of the risks associated with review hijacking, where sellers manipulate product listings to falsely boost ratings. This practice is now explicitly banned, and platforms like Amazon have committed to sanctioning businesses that engage in it. However, compliance awareness is still patchy, particularly among smaller retailers, and the grace period for compliance is soon to expire."

From a legal and reputational standpoint, how proactive should businesses be in updating their internal policies or platform monitoring tools?

"From both a legal and reputational perspective, businesses need to be highly proactive in updating their internal policies and platform monitoring tools. They should be thinking about regular compliance audits, automated monitoring tools, clear internal policies on consumer transparency, and staff training to reinforce compliance culture and prevent inadvertent violations of the new regime."

Do you expect to see more high-profile enforcement actions following Amazon and Google, and what kind of precedent does this set?

"The recent enforcement actions against Amazon and Google are a clear demonstration by the CMA of its new enforcement powers and send a strong message to other consumer-facing businesses. More high-profile enforcement action seems likely from July onwards, particularly as additional elements of the DMCCA come into force."

An extract of Helena's comments was published in Retail Sector, 19 June 2025, and can be found here.