Google Maps has released a new set of rules that punish businesses for creating and posting false positive reviews of themselves or offering incentives to others to give the business rave reviews. Not only will the fake reviews disappear, but businesses will face penalties for using them to begin with.
"Reviews and ratings can help consumers choose a business for their needs," the company said in a post. "That's why we take fake and/or incentivized reviews and ratings on businesses very seriously."
Google outlines the various rules and penalties on its support website. Among the penalties is a sanction where the business won't be able to receive new reviews or ratings. In addition, all existing ratings will be unpublished, leaving the business review section completely blank. Google doesn't mention how long the sanction will last but does say that it'll stay for a "set period of time."
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Arguably the stiffest penalty will be a label that will be placed on the business listing letting people know that the business has engaged with fake reviews in the past, ostensibly to let consumers know to be wary of the reviews they do see. Unlike the prior two restrictions, this one doesn't appear to have a time limit.
Businesses can appeal the decision by submitting an appeal form. Google says it'll review those cases.
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A Google representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Google's latest attempt to combat fake reviews isn't technically a new policy, as Search Engine Roundtable notes. In 2021, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority investigated Google and Amazon for not doing enough to deal with fake reviews on their platforms. The policy Google Maps came up with was originally applicable only to UK businesses. It seems as though the support page has been updated to remove the UK-only part and is now the default policy worldwide.