The Federal Commerce Fee has proposed a brand new rule that may penalize companies for utilizing misleading advertising and marketing techniques corresponding to producing pretend opinions, hiding sincere unfavorable opinions, and paying for constructive opinions — all of which deceive shoppers and harm sincere companies, the company mentioned on Friday.
Within the discover of proposed rulemaking, the FTC additionally famous the widespread adoption of generative AI and its subsequent potential to make it simpler for dangerous actors to generate pretend opinions.
“Our proposed rule on pretend opinions exhibits that we’re utilizing all out there means to assault misleading promoting within the digital age,” mentioned Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Client Safety, in an announcement. “The rule would set off civil penalties for violators and may assist degree the taking part in discipline for sincere corporations.”
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The proposed rule would prohibit and penalize a variety of “clearly misleading practices,” together with the sale or acquisition of faux client opinions and testimonials, buying constructive or unfavorable opinions, company-controlled overview web sites, suppression of unfavorable opinions, and shopping for pretend followers or views to “misrepresent significance” for industrial achieve.
The rule goals to filter out false and deceptive testimonials that give some companies an unfair benefit, because the constructive opinions could entice shoppers however not really mirror the client base or degree of satisfaction.
Based on Public Curiosity Analysis Group, as a lot as 30-40% of on-line opinions are pretend, per The Washington Submit. Below the proposed rule, these pretend opinions wouldn’t solely be banned but in addition carry a probably hefty high-quality.
“Though the FTC has taken robust enforcement motion on this space not too long ago, case-by-case enforcement with out civil penalty authority won’t be sufficient to discourage clearly misleading overview and testimonial practices,” the company mentioned within the launch.
The FTC is accepting public feedback on the proposed rule for 60 days, after which it can overview after which situation a closing ruling.
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