The UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC Act) introduces sweeping new rules designed to tackle fake reviews, hidden incentives, invite manipulation, and misleading rating systems.

For years, businesses and consumers have complained that major review platforms were inconsistent or easily abused. Some systems allowed selective invites, some rewarded manipulated scores, and others ignored obvious fake activity.

The DMCC Act—fully enforceable from 2025—changes everything.

This post breaks down:

• What the DMCC Act requires from review platforms
• What businesses using review platforms must now consider
• How this affects the reliability of online reviews
• And how Rated Stores has already adapted its policies to meet (and exceed) these requirements

1. What the DMCC Act Actually Changes for Review Platforms

Until now, many of the UK's rules around online reviews fell under general consumer protection law—vague, hard to enforce, and open to interpretation.

The DMCC Act, however, introduces explicit offences related to online reviews, including:

1.1. Hosting or failing to remove fake reviews

Platforms must demonstrate:

• systems to detect suspicious behaviour
• processes to prevent misuse
• the ability to act quickly on fake review reports

Platforms that knowingly allow fake reviews—or ignore evidence of manipulation—can be penalised.

1.2. Allowing or encouraging “review gating”

The Act directly targets:

• inviting only happy customers
• blocking unhappy customers from reviewing
• sending review requests only after a positive internal survey

This practice has been common for years, often disguised behind automation tools.

Under the DMCC Act, review gating is illegal.

1.3. Undisclosed incentivised reviews

Businesses must now ensure:

• all incentives are declared
• platforms visibly label incentivised reviews
• incentives do not influence rating calculation unless transparently indicated

Ignoring these rules can be considered misleading commercial practice.

1.4. Misleading rating scores

Platforms offering overall ratings (e.g., 4.7/5) must ensure:

• they reflect all genuine reviews
• the scoring method is published
• incentivised reviews are handled fairly
• manipulation is prevented or penalised

Opaque rating calculations can now lead to legal action.

2. How Businesses Are Affected in 2025

The DMCC Act shifts responsibility to both platforms and the businesses using them.

Companies must now avoid:

• selective sending of invites
• incentivising only positive reviews
• presenting ratings that exclude negatives
• hiding reviews from public display

Businesses risk penalties if they engage in “misleading reputation management”.

A platform must actively prevent these behaviours—or risk being held accountable alongside the business.

3. How Rated Stores Complies With (and Exceeds) the DMCC Act

Since the beginning of 2025, Rated Stores has implemented strict technical and policy frameworks fully aligned with the Act’s requirements.

Here’s how we meet each part of the legislation:

3.1. We control the invitations — ensuring 100% invite fairness

Selective invites are now illegal.

Rated Stores enforces fairness by:

• requiring direct integration
• automatically sending review invites to all customers
• preventing businesses from “cherry-picking” reviewers
• logging every invite for audit purposes

This is a core requirement of the DMCC Act, and most older platforms still do not enforce it.

3.2. Incentivised reviews are allowed — but always publicly tagged

The DMCC Act does not ban incentivised reviews; it bans undisclosed incentives.

Rated Stores:

• allows incentivised reviews
• automatically tags them with a visible “Incentivised Review” badge
• excludes or weights them differently in the rating if required
• logs the type of incentive used

This ensures legal transparency, while still supporting ethical reward programs.

3.3. Advanced fraud detection for fake reviews

Platforms must actively prevent fake reviews.

Rated Stores uses:

• device fingerprinting
• IP clustering
• account pattern analysis
• velocity checks
• duplicate order detection
• anomaly scoring

Unlike traditional systems that rely heavily on manual moderation, our fraud detection is built into the scoring model—ensuring suspicious reviews do not disproportionately influence ratings.

3.4. Transparent scoring rules (required by law)

Under the DMCC Act, platforms must clearly explain how a rating is calculated.

Rated Stores provides:

• documentation on our weighted rating model
• clear explanation of how incentivised reviews, fraud flags and anomalies are treated
• real-time scoring breakdowns for each business
• a public audit trail for review disputes

This transparency is essential for compliance—and something many review platforms have historically avoided.

3.5. Permanent, uneditable review records

The Act discourages systems where businesses can:

• edit reviews
• hide negative reviews
• request removal based on preference

Rated Stores locks all reviews (except clear fraud), ensuring a tamper-proof reputation record.

4. What This Means for the Future of Online Reviews

The DMCC Act puts pressure on review platforms to modernise.

In 2025 and beyond, platforms must become:

Fairer

Selective invites and hidden incentives will no longer distort ratings.

More Transparent

Consumers will clearly see whether a review was incentivised, verified, or flagged for potential issues.

More Reliable

Fraud detection and better scoring models will reduce the impact of manipulation.

More Accountable

Platforms that ignore abuse may face legal action or forced compliance.

The result is a healthier online review ecosystem, with more trustworthy ratings and fewer opportunities for dishonest businesses to distort their reputation.

5. Why Platforms That Don’t Update Their Systems Will Struggle

Many older review platforms:

• still rely on manual moderation
• do not enforce invite fairness
• have inconsistent tagging of incentives
• allow businesses to control who gets invited
• keep scoring formulas hidden

These systems face:

• legal risk
• reputation damage
• consumer distrust
• decreased ranking in search engines (Google prioritises transparent systems)

For platforms that ignore the DMCC Act, 2025 will be a difficult year.

6. Conclusion: A New Era of Review Transparency

The DMCC Act represents a major shift in consumer protection and digital transparency.

Rated Stores’ approach aligns fully with the Act’s goals:

• mandatory invite fairness
• visible incentive tagging
• advanced fraud prevention
• transparent scoring
• locked review integrity
• automated compliance tools

As regulations tighten, platforms that prioritise transparency, fairness, and visibility—rather than manipulation or selective visibility—are the ones that will thrive.

And for consumers, this means a future where online reviews are significantly more credible.