Italy’s competition regulator, the AGCM, has fined UK-based review provider Trustpilot €4 million (£3.5m) for breaking consumer protection laws in the way it operates its business.
The fine, which Trustpilot said it would appeal, comes as the company has been seeing a surge in revenues due to the use of its content by AI search providers.
‘Dark patterns’
The Italian Competition Authority said Trustpilot did not adequately verify the authenticity of its reviews and misled consumers about how its services work.
The company allows businesses to choose which consumers receive invitations to review their services, undermining the authenticity of reviews even when they are labelled as “verified”, the AGCM said.
The regulator said Trustpilot also used “dark patterns” in its interface designs that obscured key information about the way its platform works and which businesses paid for services, breaking Italy’s consumer laws.
Online ‘trust’
“We strongly disagree with the conclusions reached in this finding by the AGCM and will be appealing it robustly,” Trustpilot stated.
In December, short seller Grizzly Research accused Trustpilot of creating fake profiles that gave negative reviews and pressuring the companies to pay for subscriptions. Trustpilot denied the claims.
Earlier this month, Trustpilot said its annual profit more than quadrupled as AI search tools drove a 1,490 percent surge in click-throughs.
