As merchants and e-retailers, it is essential to proudly display your customer reviews in order to maintain or enhance your e-reputation.
However, it is very important to note that the collection, management, and also the publication of reviews online are governed by a strict legal framework.
Whether you choose to display your reviews via our widget or via our API, it is essential to follow the instructions below:
Example of compliant display
Here is an example of a display that complies with regulations:
Key information to display
- Sorting criteria (recency, rating, relevance) and filters
- Date of the consumption experience
- Date the review was submitted
- Source of the review
- Report button (if subject to the DSA)
- Indication of the review verification process
In accordance with regulations, the source of reviews is always automatically displayed on our product widget. Whether the review is an organic post-purchase one, a rewarded, syndicated, or spontaneous review.
Learn more about review sources on the product widget.
Applicable regulations
Decree 2017-1436 of September 29, 2017 - France
Since January 1st, 2018, Decree No. 2017-1436 of September 29, 2017 on consumer review transparency obligations sets rules that must be followed by trusted third parties like Verified Reviews, but also by merchants:
“Art. D. 111-17 – Any person carrying out the activity mentioned in Article L. 111-7-2 must clearly and visibly indicate:
“1° Near the reviews:
“a) The existence or absence of a review verification procedure;
“b) The publication date of each review, and the date of the consumption experience concerned by the review;
“c) The review sorting criteria, including chronological order.
“2° In a specific and easily accessible section:
“a) The existence or absence of compensation in exchange for a review;
“b) The maximum time for publishing and retaining a review.
“Art. D. 111-18 – When the person carrying out the activity mentioned in Article L. 111-7-2 verifies reviews, they must ensure that any personal data processing involved complies with the French Data Protection Act of January 6, 1978 (as amended), and specify in the section mentioned in Article D. 111-17 (2°):
“1° The main characteristics of the review verification process at the time of collection, moderation, or publication;
“2° The possibility, if applicable, to contact the consumer who submitted the review;
“3° Whether or not a review can be modified, and how this is done;
“4° The reasons that may justify refusing to publish a review.
EU Directive 2019/2161 ("Omnibus Directive")
The Omnibus Directive aims to strengthen the protection of European consumers.
The resulting legislative changes required transposition into French law. The new rules of the Omnibus Directive came into effect on May 28, 2022, as stated in Article 10 of Ordinance No. 2021-1734.
This directive mainly aims to increase the reliability of customer reviews. Its goal is to fight fake reviews and ensure authentic feedback throughout the year. Since May 28, 2022, merchants and e-retailers collecting product reviews must display:
- The procedures for control and verification applied.
- The verification method implemented, to ensure reviews were submitted by consumers who actually used or purchased the product.
The Digital Services Act (DSA)
The DSA is a European regulation that aims to regulate digital services, especially online platforms that publish user-generated content, such as customer reviews. The DSA introduces specific new obligations for intermediary platforms, especially regarding content moderation.
Verified Reviews, as a trusted third party subject to the DSA, has implemented a report button next to each review displayed on its widgets. This mechanism allows anyone to report potentially illegal or non-compliant content, in line with the transparency and moderation requirements defined by the regulation.
Merchants using Verified Reviews widgets benefit from an automatic compliance system. However, companies subject to the DSA and choosing not to use the Verified Reviews widgets must implement the necessary measures on their own to comply with this European regulation.
In other words: if you choose to display the reviews via the API, you’ll be responsible for compliance and for setting up the reporting process for your reviews. You’ll also need to send us any reviews to delete, if applicable.
Cookie validation
The cookie placed by the Verified Reviews Product Review Widget "Skeepers Performance Tracker" requires prior consent because it is an audience measurement (marketing) tracker.
| Name | Skeepers performance tracker |
|---|---|
| Host | Your website. |
| Cookie type | Performance cookie. |
| Legal basis | Consent collected via the Consent Management Platform (CMP) of your site. |
| Purpose | Placement of a “Skeepers performance tracker” to carry out performance metrics in order to demonstrate the impact of the presence of a Review Widget on the buying behavior of prospects on your e-commerce site. |
| Data processed | Full IP, Customer ID, Content ID & Media ID (internal identifiers), presence of the widget on the Client’s site, number of widget views (display/click on brand widget / product widget), number of customer reviews viewed, searches, pagination and filters used by visitors, UserAgent (browser, OS, device brand and operating system) |
| Cookie name | Expiration | Use |
|---|---|---|
| sk_[siteId] | 13 months | Allows associating actions to a single user through their visits to the site. |
| sk_first | local storage | Allows checking if it is the first time the user visits the site. |
| sk_vid | session storage | Visit ID associated to the visit. |
| sk_expiration | session storage | Used to establish the expiration time of the visit ID. |
When your process of collecting, managing, and displaying reviews (product widget) is carried out with the trusted third party Verified Reviews by Skeepers, no worries: our solution fully meets all legal requirements! Compliance is already in place.
If you have any questions about the compliance of your review display, feel free to contact our compliance team using the contact icon at the bottom right of your screen.