orders supplement

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered supplement maker Maven Labs to pay a $600,000 fine in what is described as the first case involving hijacked Amazon reviews.

The FTC alleged that Maven Labs misled consumers by using fake Amazon reviews – a tactic known as ‘astroturfing’. The commission alleged that Maven Labs used fake profiles to post reviews of its “Total Curve” supplement, falsely implying that the reviews were written by actual customers.

Furthermore, the FTC alleges that Maven Labs used “review bots” to help boost ratings on a competitor’s product, giving the impression that competitors’ customer reviews were lower than those of Maven Labs.

The FTC said in a statement that Maven Labs’ actions were “unfair or deceptive” and that it seeks to hold companies accountable for their deceptive practices.

The payment is the first involving the “astroturfing” of reviews on Amazon. The FTC is focused on clamping down on this type of deceptive practice, as they say it misleads consumers and runs counter to the FTC’s mission of protecting consumers.

The FTC has previously brought cases against companies who have either written fake reviews or paid people to write reviews, but this is the first case involving hijacking of reviews. It is likely that the FTC will continue to clamp down on deceptive practices and that other companies could soon find themselves in hot water if they are found to be doing the same.

The actions of Maven Labs could lead to reforms of the online review system, to better protect consumers from deceptive practices such as astroturfing and review-hijacking. The FTC will also continue to hold companies accountable for their deceptive practices.

In the meanwhile, consumers should be extra vigilant when considering reviews on Amazon and elsewhere online. They should always look for signs of suspicious or false reviews, such as reviews from unknown sources, reviews with little detail, or reviews that look overly positive or overly negative.