Agent Wranglers

ECM-50Required EU law

Say how you check that reviews come from buyers

Wherever you show customer reviews to EU consumers, say beside them whether and how you check them. The check shows that each review comes from someone who bought or used the product. Mark a review "verified purchase" only when it is tied to an order.

By Agent Wranglers. Updated .

Region

European Union (EU). The duty comes from the law there. The rule applies only when the project serves people there, and its Applies when also holds.

How to do it

The Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161 added these duties to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, and they have applied since 28 May 2022. Article 7(6) makes the information on how you check reviews material, so leaving it out misleads. Annex I point 23b bans saying reviews come from buyers without reasonable and proportionate steps to check it. A link from each review to an order line is such a step. Say too how you handle reviews from people without an order, and whether you publish negative ones. Store the order line ID on each review, and derive the "verified" badge from it, never from a flag staff can set. Reviews on maps and local listings follow Ask for honest reviews and never fake one.

Examples

SQL example

ALTER TABLE reviews ADD COLUMN order_line_id uuid REFERENCES order_lines (id);
CREATE VIEW review_badges AS
SELECT id, order_line_id IS NOT NULL AS verified_purchase FROM reviews;

TypeScript example

export const reviewBadge = (review: { orderLineId: string | null }) =>
  review.orderLineId ? 'Verified purchase' : null;

Python example

def review_badge(review) -> str | None:
    return "Verified purchase" if review.order_line_id else None

How to check

A browser test opens a product page with reviews as an EU visitor. The reviews section contains the text on how reviews are checked. A query finds no review with a verified badge and no order line ID.

Sources

For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ecommerce/promotions-and-claims/review-verification-notice">Agent Wranglers e-commerce and fulfilment playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.