Dutch competition authority to take action against fake review sellers

The ACM said that it was important that consumers can rely on the information they find online, and that the authority is now entering into a new phase in its fight against online deception and violation of the rules on fair competition.

Nienke Kingma, an Amsterdam-based expert in digital commerce, said: “Tackling fake reviews has been on the ACM’s radar for a longer time. Aside from fake reviews, fighting online deception in general has been a focus area for the ACM for many years. ACM has also started investigations into misleading countdown timers.”

In mid-2022, additional rules for reviews were introduced in the Netherlands, including a ban on placing fake customer reviews, allowing the ACM to take action both against providers using fake reviews and businesses selling fake reviews.         

Due to this change in law, the ACM can now impose fines of up to €900,000 on both online shops using fake reviews, and fake review writers.

These new rules stem from the Implementation Act on the Modernisation of the Consumer Protection Directive, implementing the EU’s stricter requirements on consumer protection.
In 2020, the ACM published guidelines aimed at protecting online consumers, clarifying the rules of fair competition with regard to online influencing and the use of reviews and countdown timers by businesses. Research by the ACM together with Dutch trade organisations found that most online businesses comply with the rules.

However, the ACM highlights that many online store owners assume that their online stores, when designed by external businesses, automatically comply with the law. The ACM flags that online store owners cannot rely on this and are obliged to check whether their online store truly complies with the legal requirements.