The Department of Consumer Affairs held a stakeholder consultation on Wednesday regarding the surge in consumer complaints related to e-commerce platforms in the country. The focus was on protecting consumer interests from online fake reviews. Complaints related to e-commerce platforms on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) increased from 95,270 in 2018 (22 percent of total grievances) to 444,034 in 2023 (43 percent of total grievances).
"The presence of fake reviews online jeopardises the trustworthiness and credibility of shopping platforms and can cause consumers to make wrong purchase decisions," said the Department, which comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
Nidhi Khare, Secretary, of Consumer Affairs, chaired the meeting, attended by representatives from major online platforms such as Google, Meta, Amazon, and Flipkart, industry bodies, and voluntary consumer associations, among others.
During the meeting, the Department of Consumer Affairs emphasised the growth in online shopping over recent times and the rising number of consumer grievances registered in the e-commerce sector on the NCH.
The discussion on moving towards a "quality control order for IS 19000:2022" was welcomed by stakeholders and a general consensus was reached among them that the issue of fake reviews is important to protect consumer interest while shopping online, and requires to be closely monitored.
The draft quality control order (QCO) will be placed for public consultation for submitting comments within a prescribed time frame. The essential requirements provided under the draft QCO include that the processes for collecting, moderating, and publishing online consumer reviews would be done in a manner ensuring that the "reviews that are genuine get published", the Department said.
Meanwhile, the government is working to reduce banking fraud calls on mobile phones during the day. Guidelines on this issue are expected to be issued soon. The Department of Telecommunications and TRAI has drafted guidelines for the Prevention and Regulation of Unsolicited and Unwarranted Business Communication, 2024, which is expected to be passed soon. The Consumer Affairs Department recently held a meeting to discuss this matter.
ALSO READ: Government issues warning to Android smartphone users, personal data at risk: Here's why
Inputs from IANS
