Companies fined for false online reviews

The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) in Poland has fined a company from Poznań PLN 40,000 ($9,900) for selling false online reviews that mislead consumers. UOKiK noted that 93% of online buyers are influenced by reviews when making purchases and that dishonest companies are prepared to pay for positive yet untrue reviews. The company involved, City Agency Damian Trzciński, offered services including obtaining positive opinions in search engines or "improving" negative ratings in Google Maps, and created fictitious comments. The president of UOKiK said fake reviews mislead consumers and distort the fairness of the market.

Source: PAP