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The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened five new consumer‑law investigations as part of its ongoing crackdown on fake and misleading online reviews, reinforcing the regulator's growing focus on digital transparency and fair dealing online.
Online reviews remain a critical driver of consumer decision‑making, influencing billions of pounds of UK spending each year. According to research referenced by the CMA, 89% of consumers rely on reviews when researching goods and services — making the integrity of platforms that host reviews an important consumer protection issue for the CMA.
Who is under investigation — and why?
The CMA's latest cases span multiple sectors, from automotive sales to food delivery, and focus on different ways review systems may be manipulated.
The regulator emphasises that it has not yet reached conclusions on whether consumer law has been breached by any of the businesses.
The investigations are into:
- Dignity: Is being investigated for allegedly encouraging staff to post positive reviews of its crematoria services, creating a misleading impression of genuine customer feedback.
- Feefo & Autotrader: The CMA is examining whether 1‑star reviews moderated by Feefowere suppressed and excluded from the online automotive platform and star ratings.
- Just Eat: The CMA is looking into whether its ratings system inflated certain restaurants' and grocers' scores.
- Pasta Evangelists: The CMA is assessing whether customers were offered undisclosed incentives, such as discounts, in exchange for 5‑star reviews on delivery apps.
The bigger picture
These investigations form part of the CMA's broader strategy to strengthen online consumer protection. Previous work secured undertakings from Amazon and Google to improve their systems for identifying and removing fake reviews. The new actions extend this oversight across the full reviews ecosystem, from gathering reviews, to moderating them, to displaying ratings.
What this means for other businesses
Under strengthened consumer‑protection provisions, particularly those introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024, businesses face heightened scrutiny and the potential for substantial sanctions if they manipulate online review systems.
Companies must ensure:
- transparent handling of reviews
- robust moderation processes and policies
- clear disclosure of any incentives
- accurate and non‑misleading rating methodologies
Given the CMA's increasing willingness to act, organisations across all digital‑facing sectors should urgently review their practices to ensure compliance.
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