From receipt to publication within 30 days: fake online reviews in the crosshairs of the SME law
The clampdown will focus on applications such as Tripadvisor and The Fork. Excluding the e-commerce sector
Key points
Who doesn't cast an eye over their smartphone to read customer comments before going to a restaurant or booking a holiday? The numbers confirm that it has now become a well-established habit to inquire about an establishment, checking out the feedback of others rather than reading the website.
Now Parliament declares war on false online reviews, approving rules precisely to protect restaurateurs and hoteliers, but also customers from misleading reviews. After the Senate's final approval of the SME bill, only the publication of the Gazzetta is awaited.
The regulation concerns the hotel and restaurant sector. Nothing to do with e-commerce, for which the same Amazon had initiated a lawsuit in Italia against a platform manufacturing fake reviews, for which the Court of Milan ordered its closure.
When a review is lawful according to the norm
According to the new SME law, which received the final go-ahead from the Senate on 5 March, but which awaits publication in the Gazette, there are several criteria to be met for an online review to be considered legitimate. Firstly, if it is published within thirty days by someone who has personally and actually experienced the service or product.
It must also respond to the characteristics of the establishment offering the service and the place where the consumption took place, with a relevant description of the experience. Finally, it must be accompanied by evidence of the issuance of tax documentation
