Spain’s anti-trust agency clears Amazon, Booking, Tripadvisor over fake review allegations
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Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission, or CNMC, cleared Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) and Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) over allegations of participating in or facilitating fake reviews on their websites.
Spain’s anti-trust watchdog noted that a complaint was filed by the Organization of Consumers and Users, or OCU, against Amazon, Booking and Tripadvisor for alleged use of these platforms to publish false reviews of sellers, thereby altering the free competition with violation of the unfair competition regulations.
CNMC said in a press release on Wednesday that it found no indication that the platforms have participated in or facilitated the publication of these false opinions.
The agency added that the companies have invested in detecting fraudulent valuations, penalize those responsible, and collaborate with ongoing investigations.
CNMC noted that the OCU complaint does suggest possible indications that sellers and intermediaries contact users to publish a false review in exchange for money or giving them the product they are going to buy.
The CNMC considers that these behaviors could indirectly fit into consumer protection regulations, thus it forwarded the OCU’s complaint to the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs.
