Italy Fines TripAdvisor $610,000 For Inadequate Action To Prevent False Reviews

[engine]

This is only going to cost more for TripAdvisor to manage reviews.

The American company, which allows travelers to rate hotels and restaurants around the world, has been fined 500,000 euros, or about $610,000, by an Italian regulator for not doing enough to prevent false reviews on its site.

The fine represents one of the first times that a review site has faced financial penalties in Europe or the United States for failing to clamp down on potentially false reviews.Italy Fines TripAdvisor $610,000 For Inadequate Action To Prevent False Reviews [bits.blogs.nytimes.com]

[toidi]

Hopefully this is just the beginning of a trend. I am not in any of these types of sites because i fear the manipulation.

Just wandering around that site it is obvious that there are tons of fake reviews both positive and negative.

In the big picture, people are not as inclined to praise a good experience, especially if they have to go out of their way to do so, as they are to go to the ends of the earth to complain about a perceived bad experience.