If you’re tired of swarms of fake or paid-for reviews when you’re trying to book a trip or a restaurant, Italy may soon be a good choice for your travel—the government has unveiled a draft law with real teeth to curb the fakes.
Under the law, if passed, anyone writing an online review for a hotel, restaurant or other attraction would be required to provide a valid form of ID and proof that they had actually patronized the place they plan to review. Reviews would have to be posted within two weeks of a visit.
Those are similar to rules in place by some companies already, such as The Fork, which only opens its review page to customers who have made a restaurant reservation, and only after the restaurant reports back that the customer came and ate.
Reviews that are at least two years old and can be proven no longer relevant would be subject to removal on request. Enforcement of the rules would be by Italy’s competition watchdog agency AGCM which can levy fines as well as require removal of non-complying reviews.
Italy’s Tourism Minister Daniela Santanché praised the proposal as “an important step for the protection of our businesses,” adding that “Reviews, which thanks to this regulatory intervention will actually be truthful, are fundamental for the success of companies and for the trust of consumers and tourists.”
Ironically, Santanché herself, along with 17 others, was indicted last week on charges of false accounting at her previous publishing business.
Image by Laurent from Pixabay
