Italy's antitrust authority on
Monday fined popular travel website site TripAdvisor with a
500,000 euros for unfair trade activity and "misleading
consumers".
In a statement, the watchdog said that the travel website
"emphasizes the authentic and genuine nature of the reviews,
thus misleading consumers into believing that the information is
always reliable, an expression of real tourist experiences".
According to Antitrust Authority, led by Giovanni
Petruzzella, TripAdvisor LLC and TripAdvisor Italy violated
three articles of the Consumer Code which allowed the company to
"mislead a wide audience of consumers".
The statement also said that the travel website did not
provide adequate monitoring for false reviews.
TripAdvisor LLC and TripAdvisor Italy must pay the fine
within 30 days and they have 90 days to communicate steps for
compliance, a statement said.
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