Professor: Amazon’s review lawsuit fails to address real issue

Amazon is suing more than 1,000 people for allegedly trading fake reviews of products online and thus misleading Amazon’s customers. Trevor Pinch, sociologist and professor of science and technology at Cornell University, has done research on the nature and behavior of Amazon reviewers.

“Amazon’s decision to sue purveyors of fake reviews is welcome, but is too little too late," he says. "This move fails to address the real issue: the blurring of genuine customer experiences with those who have an economic incentive to post a positive review ... Amazon itself encourages this with its own Vine program which offers free goods in return for reviews."

According to Pinch, “Another huge problem is plagiarized reviews. Studies carried out at Cornell University suggest that at least 1 percent of Amazon’s reviews are plagiarized.”