DMCC Act Fake Review Compliance for UK Businesses
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) introduces specific banned practices around fake and misleading consumer reviews in the UK. Submitting, commissioning or facilitating fake reviews, publishing reviews in a misleading way, or concealing incentivised reviews can now trigger serious regulatory action, including substantial fines.
Understanding the Law
What the DMCC Act says about fake reviews
Fake and misleading reviews are now explicitly banned
The DMCC Act makes it an automatically unfair commercial practice to submit or commission fake reviews, or reviews that hide the fact they have been incentivised.
Misleading presentation is also prohibited
Businesses must not publish reviews in a misleading way, for example by cherry-picking only positive feedback or hiding negative reviews to distort the overall impression.
Review systems must be proactively managed
Traders are expected to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent, detect and remove fake or misleading reviews, including improving verification, detection systems and user reporting.
Non-compliance carries real consequences
The Competition and Markets Authority can impose fines up to the higher of GBP 300,000 or 10% of global annual turnover for serious breaches, and individuals can also face significant penalties in some circumstances.
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. For formal interpretation of the DMCC Act you should consult the official CMA guidance and your legal advisers.