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The Federal Trade Commission\u2019s (FTC) crackdown on fabricated reviews and fake consumer and celebrity testimonials has produced <\/a> to prevent the use of these practices on websites and e-commerce hubs. The FTC approved the new rules against the buying and selling of fake reviews and product testimonials with a 5-0 vote on Wednesday. The rules will become effective in 60 days.<\/p>\n The new FTC rules address the practice of buying and selling fake consumer reviews, including the use of AI-generated consumer and celebrity testimonials for products or services. They also prevent \u201cproviding compensation or other incentives conditioned on the writing of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment, either positive or negative\u201d and prohibit \u201ca business from misrepresenting that a website or entity it controls provides independent reviews or opinions\u201d about products or services, according to a statement released by the FTC.<\/p>\n The formal ban also comes with stiff penalties for violators of the new rules. Fines could reach as high as <\/a>.<\/p>\n The FTC officially announced its intent to seek new rules for such practices <\/a>. The Commission has been trying to get control of fake online reviews and testimonials for years. The first such case was resolved in 2019 against <\/a> The company was accused of paying for fake feedback for its weight-loss products from the amazonvierifiedreviews.com website, and the FTC slapped them with a $12.8 million fine. The FTC has also investigated similar cases against the supplement maker <\/a> for \u201creview hijacking\u201d its products\u2019 reviews and ratings on Amazon that ended with a $600,000 fine, and <\/a> that created fake online reviews by ordering employees to write them.<\/p>\n The government isn\u2019t the only entity trying to discourage the buying and selling of fake reviews. The service recommendation website <\/a> that lists businesses who received warnings for posting or buying fake reviews for its Yelp page.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n