Article at the bottom of page 4 in todays Times detailed the possibility that businesses who post reviews or blogs under a false identity that show themselves in glowing terms could face prosecution from next year under an EU directive.

This includes authors who praise themselves on Amazon and Trading Standards will name and shame.

Sounds a good idea to me and presumably will impact on Dooyoo and Ciao. I know Dooyoo do not accept reviews from people about their own businesses or sites.

What about naming and shaming the ones who harass members when they've written a negative review on their product? Lisa x

Is that online?

I could not find it whenI looked for it hence the reference to the page number. I tried searching under blogs but the article did not come up.

The headline was "Fake bloggers soon to be "named and shamed" by Sam Coates one of the political correspondents. Might be able to find it if you hunt for it using that info.

Fantastic - should see an end to all those reviews of Countrywide Property Lawyers.

Do you think we could persuade Ciao to include 'probably written by the manufacturer or their competitor' as a criteria for reporting abuse?

I see so many one off 'this product is so wonderful I nearly peed myself' reviews written by PR departments and they make me puke.

The way I read the article Ciao would be obliged to take action, apparently amazon have supposed to have introduced some better vetting of their reviewers after an author reviewed and gave five stars to his own book and a hotel in Scotland was caught posting on Tripadvisor.

I've noticed some pretty bad problems on sites that host or review smaller software developers products. It can make decision harder to make. So I welcome the move. I didn't realise it had come to Ciao/Dooyoo too.

It is not a major problem but the potential is always there.

people who name themselves after their business, then review their own business? l didn't think that was allowed, either site . . .

Certainly opn Dooyoo you cannot review your own business whether you name yourself after it or not.

Surely people name their companies after themselves and not the other way round.

Not at all, my real name is Stormrider Freight and Logistics Ltd, but I changed it by deed poll.

No jesi - I meant in the real world.

People name their businesses after themselves - e.g. Joe Bloggs has Joe Bloggs plumbers. Rather than Joe Bloggs changes his name to Joe I'llunblockyourdrains when he buys a business called I'll Unblock Your Drains.