Hotel Association Demands Government Action Against Fake Reviews

"Even a few bad reviews can push businesses down on platforms, prevent business deals, and ruin price enforcement. Platforms usually react very slowly or not at all. Politics cannot continue to stand by and watch," said Markus Gratzer, Secretary General of the Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV).

Fake Reviews an Increasing Problem for Businesses

Online reviews have been an important point of reference for many consumers for years. Deliberately false or misleading reviews undermine trust in the experiences of other guests, ultimately disadvantaging businesses, industry representatives complain. Sometimes, internet platforms even become a "stage for acts of sabotage" - out of whim or with criminal intent. According to a press release on Thursday, the ÖHV increasingly suspects bots and "shady service providers" behind such attacks.

Hotel Association with a Bundle of Proposals Against Fake Reviews

As measures against fake reviews, the ÖHV envisions, among other things, an expansion of the "blacklist" in the Unfair Competition Act (UWG) as well as the anchoring or sanctioning of fake reviews in administrative penal law. This would allow companies and the judiciary to take stricter action. According to the organization, online platforms should also take more responsibility, for example by increasingly verifying the authenticity of reviews and introducing transparency obligations. Possible steps against false reviews on the internet, such as an online real-name requirement, were discussed in the previous turquoise-green government but were not implemented. The black-red-pink government program does not include any plans against fake reviews on the internet.

(APA/Red)

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