Many Travel Tech members include the submission and display of reviews as part of the services they offer. First-hand reviews can provide assurance and confidence to consumers that they are making choices that fit their travel goals or budget while also alerting consumers to avoid potential issues.
Travel Tech members have strong market-based incentives to proactively mitigate against the risk of fraudulent or deceptive reviews. They do so through a variety of manual and automated tools that facilitate the trust and safety of reviews. These solutions and tools are aligned with the Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement Guides and constantly tuned to incorporate lessons learned from evolving bad actor tactics and Commission enforcement.
The travel technology industry’s ability to maintain consumer confidence and trust in traveler
reviews relies in part on protections afforded under Section 230 of the Communications
Decency Act. Section 230 encourages operators of interactive computer services to invest the resources necessary to prevent and take down fake or deceptive reviews. This provision is important to consumers because it protects the ability of online platforms to offer reviews and employ content moderation processes and solutions, which help ensure that reviews are first-hand, relevant, and timely.
In January 2023, Travel Tech submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPR”) on deceptive or unfair uses of reviews and endorsements.
In June 2023, the FTC announced updates to its Endorsement Guides and a proposed rule banning fake reviews and testimonials. Join us to provide input into Travel Tech’s comments in response.
