II. CODES OF CONDUCT Let us now turn to the possible remedial measures addressing this phenomenon. As noted above, the ultimate aim of fake reviews is to influence the market positioning of a product or service, either positively or negatively. Given their promotional or competitive intent, fake reviews can be classified as commercial communications, thereby falling under the scope of advertising regulations13. As several scholars have pointed out, in recent decades a variety of advertising laws and self-regulatory frameworks have evolved to govern commercial communication. These frameworks are generally built upon four fundamental principles: authenticity, truthfulness, fair competition, and legality14. Many countries have established self-regulatory bodies within the advertising sector, tasked with enforcing codes of conduct that reflect these core principles. Due to necessary limitations of scope, this paper will refer specifically to the Italian law system, and in particular to the “Istituto dell’Autodisciplina Pubblicitaria”, which enforces the “Codice di Autodisciplina della Comunicazione Commerciale”. This Code includes explicit provisions aimed at ensuring that commercial messages respect legality, honesty, fairness, and authenticity. Nonetheless, other examples are equally relevant. Notably, the Advertising and Marketing Communications Code developed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) serves as the reference model for nearly 50 self-regulatory codes across different jurisdictions15. III. LEGAL FRAMEWORK The list of remedial tools that can be activated in case of fake reviews is articulated. I will only indicate the main means. Obviously, in the case where the negative review is also defamatory or insulting, the user’s right to express his or her opinion clashes with the prohibition of using 13 M. Barish (2018) Reaching for the stars: a proposal to the FTC to help deter astroturfing and fake reviews, in (2018) Cardozo Arte Entertain Law Journ., 36(3), p. 827 ff. 14 On its website, the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) states that the foundations of all Ad Standards Codes are based on the principles that: advertising is legal, decent, honest and truthful: https://www. easa-alliance.org/about-ad-standards/the-codes. 15 For more details, see J. M. Martínez Otero, Fake reviews on online platforms: perspectives from the US, UK and EU legislations, in (2021) SN Social Science 1, 181, p. 8. 559 FAKE AND PAID-FOR ONLINE REVIEWS AND PROTECTION
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