Italy fines one most widely used online review platforms Trustpilot $4.6 million: Why and what the company has to say

Italy’s competition watchdog has fined Trustpilot, one of the world's most widely used online review platforms, €4 million ($4.6 million) fine for failing to verify the authenticity of reviews and for misleading consumers about how its services actually work, according to a report by news agency Reuters.

The Italian Competition Authority, known as the AGCM, found that Trustpilot's review collection system contained a flaw that compromised the integrity of its ratings. It goes on to say that the platform used deceptive design techniques to keep consumers in the dark about it.

Trustpilot fined: What the Italy’s regulator found

According to the AGCM, Trustpilot’s review collection service allowed businesses to handpick which customers received invitations to leave a review.

This means that the companies could selectively target satisfied customers while leaving unhappy ones off the list.The report said that the result is a system where published ratings may not reflect the genuine range of customer experiences, even when those reviews are labelled as “verified” – essentially breaching the trust of customers who rely on Trustpilot ratings to decide where to shop, which services to use or which companies to trust.

The regulator also found that Trustpilot employed “dark pattern” design techniques which are but choices deliberately engineered to hide important information. Specifically, the platform made it difficult for users to identify which businesses had paid for Trustpilot’s services.

Trustpilot pushes back: What the company said

Trustpilot quickly rejected the findings. “We strongly disagree with the conclusions reached in this finding by the AGCM and will be appealing it robustly,” the company said in a statement, Reuters reported. The platform also sought to reassure investors, saying it does not expect the fine to have any material impact on its operations or finances.