News item | 29-03-2022 | 13:45
A ban on posting false consumer reviews at online stores and digital platforms will take effect from 28 May this year. The Senate has today approved the consumer protection bill by Ministers Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) and Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection) that tightens various rules in the digital economy to provide consumers with clearer and fairer information.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (EZK): “With these regulations, we will make a stronger fist against fake reviews from May. Also, online platforms and stores must always make it clear in search results that these are paid advertisements or that they have been paid to get a higher placement. Platforms must also inform consumers who is responsible (seller or platform) for delivery and handling of returns. This fits in with my approach to improve complete and clear consumer information in the digital economy and to stop deception.”
Tightened rules to inform consumers more clearly and honestly
Consumer reviews must be verified by merchants for authenticity before they can be posted as a review or recommendation. And from May 28, 2022, there will also be a ban on having someone else post false consumer reviews for payment. In addition, sellers must inform consumers whether, and if so how, they check whether reviews come from consumers who have actually bought the product.
They must also inform consumers whether they will receive a personalized price offer, for example because an algorithm keeps track of what the consumer in question has bought and which websites he has viewed. The legislation also prohibits displaying search results without making it clear that the advertising is paid or that it has been paid to get a higher placement.
Online platforms must inform consumers who is responsible (seller or platform) for the delivery and handling of returns, so that the consumer knows who to contact in case of problems. It must also always be clear how the order of the search result that the consumer sees on the online platform is determined.
Consumer rights also apply to ‘free’ digital services
Consumers make full use of ‘free’ digital services such as social media, for which they first have to provide their personal data. Providers of such services must provide more information about, for example, the duration of the contract and how it can be terminated. Consumers also have the right to dissolve the agreement without reason within fourteen days. At that point, they must also ‘recover’ their personal data, which means that the provider stops processing it.
Rules will apply throughout the EU
The same rules should be applied simultaneously across the EU by the end of May 2022, so that consumers everywhere have the same protection. The rules also apply when making online purchases across the border. That is why EU supervisors such as the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) work together when a company violates rules in several Member States. They can impose a fine in one or more Member States that amounts to at least 4% of the turnover of that company in the country concerned.