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With the proliferation of online customer reviews, French and European regulations have been considerably tightened. These measures aim to combat fraud, guarantee the authenticity of reviews and protect consumers against misleading commercial practices.
Our guide explains in practical terms how to get compliant, publish reliable reviews and avoid sometimes severe penalties. That way you can win your customers' trust and secure your digital reputation over the long term. Other articles complement this guide in our section on legislation and fake reviews.
For a small business, monbizness prices stay well below the cost of a customer lost to an unanswered review.
Legal framework for customer reviews
Decree no. 2017-1436, in force since January 2018, strictly regulates review collection, review moderation and publication. Under article D.111-7 of the French Consumer Code, each review must reflect the opinion of a consumer based on a real purchase experience. For an overview of these texts, read our summary of the online review laws in France.
Following these rules is essential to avoid any accusation of publishing fake reviews and to prove the reliability of the reviews you display. This is also why you should never buy Google reviews to inflate your rating.
Which information obligations apply
The regulation requires you to clearly display, next to each customer review: the publication date, the date of the experience, and, where relevant, the update date if the review was edited.
The ranking of reviews must be transparent (chronological by default), with information on:
- The maximum publication delay
- How long reviews are kept
- Any checks or moderation of reviews
- Review collection: Document your process (post-purchase email, unique link) so you can prove it during a DGCCRF (the French consumer fraud authority) inspection.
- Dedicated page: Create a "Review policy" section explaining possible refusals, edits and the consumer's options for recourse.
- Rewards: Clearly mention any benefit with the wording "Review received in exchange for a discount".
Large platforms (5M+ visitors/month) must publish a guide detailing their review collection method, review ranking and review publication, as required by the DGCCRF.
Verifying the authenticity of customer reviews
Since May 2022, European law requires you to systematically check that each review comes from a real consumer. You must publicly explain your verification methods:
- Order number
- Proof of purchase
- Confirmation email
- Unique transactional link (ISO 20488 standard)
For example, send an email with a unique link 7 days after delivery. This system lets you add the "Verified purchase" badge, which strengthens the reliability of reviews.
NF Service certification, obtained after an independent audit, is additional proof of your compliance and reassures consumers.
DGCCRF penalties and inspections
The DGCCRF regularly carries out inspections to spot misleading commercial practices and the publication of fake reviews. Its investigations found that more than 50% of sites had shortcomings, notably on the authenticity of reviews.
Penalties can go up to:
- €75,000 for an individual
- €375,000 for a company
- 2 years in prison + a €300,000 fine (which can be increased) in cases of proven fraud
To durably strengthen your customers' trust, discover why transparency in online reviews is essential. This approach also improves your organic search ranking and increases your conversion rates. On this point, the authenticity of your Google reviews remains the foundation of your credibility.
Compliant processes for customer reviews
Setting up a reliable process for customer reviews rests on three key steps: collection, moderation and publication. Each of these phases must respect legal obligations while optimizing the user experience and the commercial effectiveness of your verified reviews system.
Compliant collection and verification
Our collection method relies on systematic invitations sent after every transaction, making it easy for the customer to leave a review. We clearly explain on our dedicated page how we guarantee the authenticity of reviews: automated post-purchase sending, unique links per transaction and verification of order numbers. This approach scrupulously respects online review regulations while maximizing responses.
- Automated invitation: sent 7 days after delivery with the order number pre-filled to simplify the process.
- Secure proof of purchase: invoices archived for at least 2 years to answer any inspections.
- "Verified purchase" badge: lets customers easily tell verified reviews from anonymous reviews.
- GDPR compliance: transparent information on data processing and consumer rights.
This method ensures the authenticity of reviews while respecting data protection principles. The information collected is minimal and published reviews use a pseudonymized format (initials) to preserve anonymity. These precautions match the requirements for protecting your customers' personal data.
Moderation and traceability of customer reviews
Our system combines automated detection and human verification to eliminate fake positive reviews and any attempt at manipulation. Every decision is recorded with tangible evidence, which protects us during DGCCRF inspections or DGCCRF Google reviews checks.
If a review is rejected, its author receives a clear notification explaining the reasons (inappropriate content, no proof of purchase, etc.). The consumer can then contest this decision through a dedicated channel, with a guaranteed reply within 7 business days.
Display, SEO and transparency
All verified customer reviews, whether positive or negative, are published with standardized information: purchase date, publication date, product concerned and, where applicable, the "Verified purchase" badge. This transparency strengthens your company's credibility with consumers.
Technical integration in JSON-LD lets ratings appear directly in Google results via rich snippets. This showcases your online consumer reviews, improves your visibility and guarantees your compliance with DGCCRF requirements, including for DGCCRF Google reviews.
To make the most of your customers' testimonials while respecting legal obligations, discover our complete guide to turning customer reviews into a commercial asset. You'll find effective methods to improve collection, review handling and their use as social proof.
Fighting fake customer reviews
The multiplication of fake online reviews seriously undermines the reliability of reviews on the internet. To maintain trust, we've developed a high-performing system that identifies, prevents and penalizes any attempt at fraud on our online review platform.
Warning signs and detection
Our technology automates review checks by analyzing statistical and linguistic anomalies. In line with online review regulations, it records every review verification so it can justify its decisions to the DGCCRF.
- Sudden volume spikes: a series of positive reviews posted in a short time from the same IP addresses or improbable geographic locations.
- Linguistic repetition: detection of identical sentences, similar phrasing or text copied between several comments.
- Accounts with no history: recently created profiles that immediately post several ratings without proof of purchase.
- Timing inconsistencies: reviews written before the product was received or about items not yet available.
Our algorithms notably use "Polygraphe", a DGCCRF tool that combines statistical and semantic analysis to detect fake online reviews with great precision. Any doubtful content is immediately isolated and then manually checked before publication.
Robust moderation procedures
Our team applies a rigorous methodology to handle flagged reviews, whether they are spotted automatically or by an attentive consumer. We limit the number of comments per order and systematically cross-check purchase data against contributors' IP addresses.
The "Report this review" button makes it easy for consumers or professionals to flag suspicious content. We confirm receipt within 24 hours, investigate within 72 hours, and archive all traces for possible later inspections, thus ensuring the rigor of our review verification. On Google, you can also have a fraudulent review removed from your profile.
Tips for businesses and consumers
We recommend that businesses publish a transparent charter explaining their customer review policy (collection, delays, moderation criteria). This approach makes inspections easier and strengthens the trust of potential customers.
For their part, savvy consumers should:
- Consult several sources of information
- Check for concrete details in reviews
- Examine the rating distribution (a concentration of 5 stars with no criticism deserves caution)
| Warning sign | Risk indicator | Recommended action |
| Spike of identical reviews | 30+ similar reviews in 24 hours | Automatic quarantine then manual investigation |
| Missing dates | Reviews with no experience date | Require an update or removal |
| No verified badge | >80% of reviews not authenticated | Strengthen review verification |
| Repetitive wording | Text similarity >70% | Automatic blocking then linguistic analysis |
Frequently asked questions
What are the new obligations for online platforms regarding customer reviews?
Since May 2022, online review regulations require systematic verification before publication. Each customer review must be linked to real proof of purchase (order number or invoice). We clearly indicate the date of the experience and the publication date, and we add a "Verified purchase" indicator.
Large platforms (more than 5 million visitors/month) must now:
- Publish a user guide accessible to everyone
- Detail their review ranking methods
Warning: non-compliance exposes you to heavy penalties (up to a €375,000 fine). In cases of misleading commercial practices, penalties can reach €300,000 and 2 years in prison. These measures clearly aim to strengthen the reliability of reviews for everyone.
How do you guarantee the authenticity of Google reviews while respecting GDPR?
To guarantee the authenticity of reviews without breaching GDPR, we've put a strict procedure in place:
- Secure storage of proof of purchase (never published)
- Transparent information when a review is left: purpose, duration, consumer rights
- Pseudonymized publication to limit data exposure
The DGCCRF can access supporting documents if needed for its review verification. The retention of a review and its proof is limited to 2 years maximum. This solution perfectly balances data protection and transparent online review management.
What are the penalties for publishing fake online reviews?
The publication of fake online reviews is severely punished by law, considered a misleading commercial practice:
- Up to a €75,000 fine for an individual
- Up to €375,000 for a company
- Possible prison sentence (2 years maximum)
Even after a report, leaving fake online reviews in place can cost dearly:
- Up to an additional €300,000 fine
- Up to 10% of annual turnover
Poorly transparent online review management seriously harms the reliability of reviews and customer trust. That's why we've made guaranteeing the authenticity of reviews our absolute priority.
