If Valve can see any profit in legal action, they'll jump on it for sure. lol
I'm probably not helping... ;) Thanks for the update. I'd missed this tidbit of news back in August. This is good news, even if enforceability is up to each company with a store.

Originally posted by Selective Oblivion:

If Valve can see any profit in legal action, they'll jump on it for sure. lol
I'm probably not helping... ;) Thanks for the update. I'd missed this tidbit of news back in August. This is good news, even if enforceability is up to each company with a store.

Valve wouldn't be filing the complaint, the FTC is the plaintiff, so there's nothing in it for Valve. There is a link at the end of that article to file a complaint with the FTC.

My concern is that the FTC wouldn't find any profit from groups like Obzor/Mipped... for starters, the review farms are in Russia and the sellers either Russian, aligned to Russian interests or otherwise generally firmly in the eastern bloc.

None of which helps gamers, unfortunately.

https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-10-22-posting-fake-online-reviews-is-now-illegal-under-new-ftc-rule/

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a new rule that makes the sale and purchase of fake consumer reviews illegal. The rule, which took effect on Monday (October 21), is part of the FTC's initiative to strengthen the regulation of online advertising and promote fair, honest, and competitive markets. The rule also includes instructions on appropriate disclosures for online reviews written by company insiders.

The rule prohibits businesses from using deceptive endorsement and review practices, including using fake reviews, suppressing honest negative reviews, and paying for positive reviews. It also adds several definitions for terms used in the regulations, including for "consumer review hosting" and "fake indicators of social media influence."

The FTC states that the rule will enhance its ability to pursue civil penalties for companies violating the regulations. Violation of the rule entitles the FTC to seek significant penalties in the amount of up to $51,744 per violation or per day for ongoing violations.

Maybe this will be the end of all those stupid "pet my cat" reviews as well.

Originally posted by Mr_C_:

suppressing honest negative reviews

I like this part

Originally posted by Obey the Fist!:

Originally posted by Mr_C_:

suppressing honest negative reviews

I like this part

Yeah, I follow your curation and have read your reviews.

Maybe it will also be a blow to dev censorship too.

I appreciate Valve doesn't want to moderate every game community page, but leaving that to the devs has created a lot of censorship problems that can be a little chilling.

While this is almost definitely in response to what's been happening on Amazon, it can only be a positive on Steam in the long run as well.

I think we're all hoping this will encourage Valve to be a little more aggressive about the fake review problem here.

If nothing else it's really harmful to gamers and to indie devs who have to compete for visibility against fake games with fake reviews.