Fake review law in the United Kingdom, and what it means for your business

The Competition and Markets Authority enforces it directly, without going to court, and can fine a business up to the greater of three hundred thousand pounds or ten per cent of its global annual turnover, with personal penalties of up to a hundred and fifty thousand pounds, and up to three hundred thousand for an individual who was party to a breach. What the law does is govern how reviews are obtained and shown. What it still does not do is tell you, before you buy from someone, whether their five-star wall is real, which is the gap this site fills.

Who enforces it, and the record so far

The CMA also expects the platforms that publish reviews to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove fakes. It has already secured commitments from the two largest platforms to improve their detection and sanctions, one set of undertakings in January 2025 and another in June 2025, and in its first year of these powers it sent advisory letters to dozens of businesses and opened formal investigations into five named firms in March 2026 over hiding negative reviews, inflating ratings, undisclosed staff reviews and undisclosed incentives, with findings expected later in 2026.

What it means for you, and the limit

For an honest operator, two things follow. First, you are protected: a business that buys fakes to outrank you, or that gags its honest critics, is now squarely breakable by the regulator. Second, you are also exposed if your own setup gates reviews, hides negatives on your site, or runs undisclosed incentives, often through software you did not realise was doing it, so the self-audit on this site is worth a few minutes. The limit, honestly stated: the law is new, enforcement is still building, and a fine is not a fast route to fixing one fake review aimed at you. It changes the weather, not the individual storm. For that, use the recourse page.