Federal Court orders Amazon to turn over review, ratings docs to Competition Bureau
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OTTAWA — A new court order is requiring Amazon to hand internal records related to its review and ratings programs over to Canada’s competition watchdog.
The court order issued by Chief Justice Paul Crampton earlier this week forces Amazon to give the Competition Bureau records prepared for senior management that delve into how star ratings, Amazon’s Choice badges and bestseller labels are applied.
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The order also requires the tech giant to provide information about verified purchase and top reviewer badges, along with reports related to consumer complaints about these programs and reviews on Amazon’s platform.
Rounding out the documents Amazon will have to release are reports about product refunds and returns not passed on to third-party sellers, information about the costs of managing and moderating product reviews and records related to disciplinary action taken against third-party sellers, like warnings, removal of product listings, and instances where they were downgraded in search results.
The court order is part of an ongoing investigation the Competition Bureau is conducting into whether Amazon’s marketing practices constitute deceptive marketing provisions under the country’s Competition Act.
Amazon spokesperson Kristin Gable says in a statement that the company will continue sharing information about its efforts to fight fake and “improperly incentivized” reviews with the bureau.
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