According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the company, which controls 90% of UK searches, will issue warnings to businesses that are discovered to have inflated their star ratings.
In order to prevent them from receiving any more reviews, the worst offenders will have their review capability deleted.
No matter where they are in the world, anybody who writes fraudulent or deceptive reviews on a regular basis will be prohibited from doing so.
Which?, a consumer advocacy group, referred to the reforms as “a step in the right direction” but stated that they would require robust enforcement measures, possibly including “heavy fines” if Google did not follow through.
The CMA’s CEO, Sarah Cardell, stated: “The modifications we obtained from Google guarantee that strong procedures are in place.
