An update on the Countryside Alliance's fake reviews campaign

We are immensely grateful to everyone who took part in our campaign to help protect rural businesses from malicious and fake reviews. Thousands of our members and supporters lobbied their MPs as part of this campaign, asking them to support amendments to the Online Safety Bill which would help to protect those targeted in this manner by animal rights extremists.  

This campaign against malicious, fake reviews of businesses – a favoured tactic of fringe animal rights activists targeting rural businesses – came to a head in June as two amendments to the Online Safety Bill that we promoted were debated in the House of Lords. Their sponsor, Baroness Buscombe, gave an excellent presentation of the issue, supported by Lord Garnier and others. 

These amendments sought to include financial harm and to expand the definition of harm to cover not only intended recipients, but also the subjects of the information or disinformation posted. Baroness Buscombe explained and gave examples of how such attacks on businesses can cause significant damage to victims’ mental, physical, and financial well-being. She also clarified that legitimate criticism and fair comment would not be affected: the focus is on reviews based on lies, written with the intent to harm. 

Frustratingly, the Government could not be convinced to adopt our amendments, saying it would instead address the issue through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. We are concerned that an approach based on consumer law will be insufficient to address the issue of malicious fake reviews posted by individuals based on ideological or personal hostility, which are the kind from which we believe rural businesses deserve urgent protection. 

We have, however, continued to work with Baroness Buscombe, Lord Garnier and other parliamentary supporters to maintain pressure on the Government. This has included co-ordinating two joint letters from parliamentarians that emphasised some distinctions we think had been missed, and meetings between Ministers and our supporters who went armed with our advice. 

Most recently, the Government has been consulting on how its plan to use the Digital Markets Bill to combat fake reviews will work. Although it will not allow for sanctions against people posting fake reviews out of ideological or personal hostility, which we believe is important to deter them and prevent businesses being harmed, the proposal will require review platforms to verify that reviews they host represent genuine customer experiences, and to remove reviews that do not. 

We have now responded to this consultation, urging the Government to recognise the specific issue of ideologically-motivated malicious fake reviews, and to define the regulations appropriately. We will, of course, also be looking for further opportunities to press for changes to legislation that introduce sanctions against offenders and create the important deterrent effect. 

To support our work standing up for rural livelihoods against hostility and assault by extremists, please join the Countryside Alliance or make a donation today.