It seems that the Federal Trade Commission will put an end to the practice of fake game reviews.
Companies may be forced to address the issue of bombing video game reviews after a new set of rules issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The decision targets “fake” reviews and testimonials online.
How can the new Federal Trade Commission’s decision limit fake reviews of video games?
As reported by DualShockers, FTC Chairwoman Lena Khan published six “prohibited” practices that companies will face consequences for. Although game review bombing – primarily occurring on the Steam platform owned by Valve and Metacritic – is done by players and not companies, FTC deems them as fake reviews and may hold platforms hosting those reviews accountable for them.
The Federal Trade Commission defines fake reviews as those written by individuals “who did not have actual experience” with the game. Companies are prohibited from buying or offering incentives for positive and negative reviews alike, and cannot publish reviews by individuals affiliated with the company (including employees) without disclosing the nature of the relationship between the company and those reviewing its products.
Here, it becomes particularly interesting. This rule targets “anyone” – whether a company or an individual – who sells or buys “fake indicators to influence social media” such as followers, and then uses them to influence others.
The most important and covered ruling for games is “fraudulent or deceptive consumer reviews, consumer testimonials, and endorsements of consumers.”.
It prohibits reviews created by a “non-existent person, such as fake reviews created by artificial intelligence,” but also covers individuals “who did not have actual experience” with the product or, crucially, “distort the experience.”.
The second rule prohibits “buying positive or negative reviews,” where buying entails providing (explicitly or implicitly) financial compensation or other incentives “conditioned on writing consumer reviews.”
However, it should be noted that the rules of the Federal Trade Commission mostly apply to companies, not individuals who share their comments on social media. Nevertheless, companies such as Valve and Metacritic that host fake reviews may be forced to address review bombing, especially as it affects developers. We will see how this unfolds.