Antitrust authority fines Tripadvisor

(ANSA) - Rome, December 22 - 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.