The Centre unveiled a framework to combat deceptive and fake reviews on ecommerce platforms. The guidelines will go into effect on November 25th.
“The standard is expected to benefit all stakeholders in the ecommerce ecosystem, including consumers, e-commerce platforms, and sellers, among others.” It will boost consumer confidence in purchasing goods online and help them make better purchasing decisions,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement. Within 15 days, the Bureau of Indian Standards will also develop an assessment scheme to assess compliance with the norms. At first, the guidelines will be voluntary for ecommerce platforms, but they may become mandatory if violations continue. Under the new framework, ecommerce platforms are required to create a code of conduct as well as the necessary terms and conditions to combat fake reviews.