India targets fake, paid reviews of products on social media

India is set to tighten rules to weed out fake or paid reviews of products from vehicles to smartphones on e-commerce websites and social media following a growing outcry from customers, Bloomberg reported.

The Narendra Modi government will soon unveil a framework of regulations that target people who are paid to endorse merchandise, Rohit Kumar Singh, secretary, India's department of consumer affairs, told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday (7).

He said such reviewers will be held liable in case of issues related to the product(s).

India is a huge market for Google and YouTube and some of the country's savvy internet users have gathered big followings by posting product reviews on the platforms. However, most do not reveal whether they have been paid by companies or not, the Bloomberg report added.

India has more than 600 million smartphones and cheap mobile data and more and more Indians are using the internet to check out and purchase everything on sale.