Featuring Online Customer Reviews: A Guide for Platforms
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Review collection
Online retailers, review platforms, and other companies collect
reviews from consumers in dierent ways. Some use “open”
systems that allow all consumers to submit reviews, while others
use “closed” systems that limit collection to verified buyers or users.
Neither system is immune to fake reviews, though operators of
“open” systems may face more challenges in determining whether
reviews are legitimate. Some companies are proactive in seeking
more reviews, using repeated requests and sometimes oering
incentives to consumers. As reflected in cases brought by the FTC
and other law enforcement agencies, some of these companies
go too far, oering incentives only for positive reviews, or taking
improper steps to avoid collecting negative reviews.
Here are some basic principles that FTC sta believes companies
should follow:
1. Don’t ask for reviews only from people you think will leave
positive ones.
2. If you oer an incentive to consumers for leaving a review, don’t
condition it, explicitly or implicitly, on the review being positive.
Even without that condition, oering an incentive to write a
review may introduce bias or change the weight and credibility
that readers give that review. For these reasons, some platforms
have prohibited incentivized reviews altogether or have
established mechanisms for labeling them.
3. Don’t prevent or discourage people
from submitting negative reviews.