Google responds to Ministry of Trade decision! 'Can be used without issues in Turkey'

According to the statement made by Google, the decision in question concerns websites that share Google reviews on their own platforms. Google does not verify whether the relevant good or service has been purchased in order for reviews and ratings to be made on its platform. For this reason, Google reviews will not be permitted on websites intended for sales. On sites where goods or services are sold, only reviews from users verified to have used that service will be allowed. Users will be able to continue posting reviews and ratings on Google and Google Maps applications as they wish.

''USERS IN TURKEY CAN CONTINUE TO USE REVIEWS''

Google responded to the statements made by the Advertising Board as follows:

“The recent decision by the Advertising Board of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Trade concerns the publication of unverified consumer reviews on third-party commercial websites. The information in news reports regarding this decision, which claims that Google has been fined and that Google Reviews has been banned, does not reflect the truth. Google Reviews has not been affected by the Advertising Board's decision, and users in Turkey can continue to use it without any issues.”

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Advertising Board under the Ministry of Trade had made statements drawing attention to the fact that people can post reviews on workplaces and venues via Google Maps without having received any service.

The following statements were included in the announcement made by the Board:

"In order to prevent the manipulation of existing review and rating practices on websites and to stop the inclusion of fake, misleading, or unverifiable reviews in review sections, a verification obligation has been imposed on those engaged in commercial practices to ensure that published reviews and rating applications are made by consumers who have purchased that good or service.

In this context, during an investigation brought to the agenda by the Advertising Board, it was determined that the reviews and ratings under the 'Facility Reviews' heading of a firm were published based on reviews obtained through 'Google' systems without fulfilling the obligation to verify that they were made by those who purchased the relevant good or service. In this case, because users who have not stayed at the facility or received any service from these facilities can post reviews via the Google system, and because it is impossible to meet the verification and proof obligation since it cannot be proven that users claiming to have received services from the facility actually did so, it was evaluated that publishing reviews from platforms such as Google, blogs, etc., which merely reflect user experiences, on websites engaged in the sale of goods and services is an unfair commercial practice, regardless of whether warnings regarding the subject are included, and it was decided to impose an administrative fine in addition to a suspension penalty."

News Source: 12punto