The e-commerce giant has once again resorted to legal measures in an effort to purge its site of fake reviews for buyers, sellers and products, the presence of which continues to threaten consumer trust in the platform. A new complaint filed in the state of Washington at the tail end of last week by Amazon identifies seven defendants which the company claims run websites that 'consist entirely' of supplying 'inauthentic reviews for profit,' violating federal trademark and consumer laws and state consumer law. Two of the defendants are identified by name, while the other five are identified simply as 'John Does'.

Widening the net

This is the third such lawsuit that Amazon has brought against fake review peddlers in the last 12 months. However, the company insists that pursuing legal action against perpetrators is not just about deterring abuse of the review system and punishing offenders, but more broadly about exposing and undermining the entire 'ecosystem' of the underground economy surrounding fake reviews. 'In addition to other relief sought, through this action Amazon will identify additional dishonest sellers and manufacturers who purchase fraudulent reviews and take enforcement action against them,' it says in the company's complaint.

Tarnishing the brand

Amazon launched its legal crusade against fake reviews last year, claiming in an earlier filing that websites that sell four and five-star reviews for profit are '[threatening] to undermine the trust that customers, and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers, place in Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon's brand.' Around 1,000 lawsuits have reportedly been brought against individual defendants accused of participating in the underground review economy, though it is unknown how successful these have been. Amazon, however, insists that litigation has helped the company to collect data on offending individuals and undertake its own enforcement action against them, including blocking sellers and reviewers where necessary.

Sources: Wall Street Journal; Digital Trends (1); Digital Trends (2)