The CMA’s crackdown on fake reviews continues

On Friday 27 March 2026, the CMA announced five new investigations into businesses across the funeral, food-delivery, and automotive sectors targeting fake and misleading online reviews, a practice expressly banned under the DMCCA. 

Research suggests that up to 50% of online reviews are fake. Yet, 89% of consumers rely on online reviews when researching products and services. It is no surprise that the CMA has ramped up enforcement in this area, where consumers risk being misled into poor choices, especially as household budgets remain under pressure. 

The CMA’s concerns span a range of practices:

• Suppressing or filtering negative reviews
• Asking staff to write positive reviews
• Not disclosing that incentives were offered in return for positive reviews
• Using star ratings in a misleading manner

The businesses named include Auto Trader, Feefo, Dignity, Just Eat and Pasta Evangelists, bringing the total number of businesses investigated by the CMA to 14 since the DMCCA came fully into force.

When do reviews infringe the DMCCA?

The DMCCA captures a range of problematic review practices: 

• Fake reviews: reviews not based on a person’s genuine experience, whether positive or negative.
• Undisclosed incentivised reviews: where money, ‘freebies’, event invitations or other benefits are provided in exchange for a review without clearly disclosing this.
• Misleading presentation of review information: including aggregating star ratings without addressing known fake reviews or otherwise distorting the overall picture.

The DMCCA goes beyond prohibiting certain conduct. It places a positive obligation on businesses to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove banned reviews and misleading consumer review information. 

Building on earlier enforcement

These investigations follow earlier CMA action, including securing undertakings from Google and Amazon to strengthen their systems for detecting and removing fake reviews. They also sit alongside the CMA’s detailed guidance on fake reviews published last April, which sets out clear expectations for compliance. 

Takeaways

Review management is now a compliance issue, and this latest wave of enforcement is a timely prompt for business to sense-check their internal processes. 

While businesses are allowed to encourage customers to leave reviews, they must not predetermine their content. Offering incentives are also permitted provided the incentive is clearly disclosed and the review reflects the review’s genuine experience.

To help ensure compliance, businesses should consider:

• Implementing and documenting clear policies on preventing and removing prohibited reviews.
• Reviewing arrangements with 3^rd party platforms to ensure DMCCA compliance.
• Training staff on appropriate review practices.

Given the serious consequences of non-compliance in this area, a targeted DMCCA audit will help to mitigate regulatory risk. At Bristows, our consumer protection team works closely with businesses to deliver practical solutions ensuring business practices are compliant with DMCCA requirements.