Government wants ecommerce, hotel and travel platforms to reveal rating methodology

Ecommerce companies and hotel and travel booking platforms should disclose their methodology for giving star ratings to products and services on their platforms as per a new set of standards released by the government to counter fake reviews on such sites.

Companies will also have to disclose if a customer review is solicited or paid for or purchased, according to the new framework.

“The objective is to minimise the bias and fraudulent reviews to start with,” Rohit Kumar Singh, secretary at the Department of Consumer Affairs, said here on Monday.

The standards are self-regulatory at the moment. However, they may be made mandatory in future, Singh said.
They will come into effect from November 25.

Companies such as Tata Sons, Amazon, Flipkart, Zepto, Reliance, Google, Meta, Zomato, Swiggy, Meesho and Blinkit were a part of a committee that helped the government develop these standards.

As per the standards, companies will also have to verify the author of a review and take permission from the author to post their personal data on the sites.

Since ecommerce involves a virtual shopping experience without any opportunity to physically view or examine the product, consumers heavily rely on reviews posted on platforms to see the opinion and experiences of customers who have already purchased the goods or services, Singh said.

Companies that follow the standards to curb fraudulent reviews can obtain certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

India will be one of the first countries to have developed such frameworks, Singh said.

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