New First-Party Reviews Policy and Updated Website Terms of Use

Customer reviews can play an important role in helping consumers decide whether to buy goods, services, or digital content online. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, businesses that publish or use consumer reviews must take particular care to prevent fake reviews and to ensure that review information is presented clearly, fairly, and transparently.

An all-new Reviews Policy for First-Party Reviews is now available, designed to support businesses that collect and publish reviews directly on their own websites.

Our key B2C Website Terms of Use templates for the sale of goods, services, and digital content have also received comprehensive updates for compatibility with the new policy.

New Website Reviews Policy - First-Party Reviews

Our new Website Reviews Policy - First-Party Reviews is designed for website owners who allow users to submit reviews directly to their own website.

The policy sets out clear rules for submitting reviews, explains how reviews may be checked and moderated, and helps you to demonstrate that you are taking reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and deal with fake or misleading reviews.

This new template is suitable for businesses that publish first-party reviews relating to goods, services, digital content, or the customer experience.

What Does the New Policy Cover?

The policy, designed for use alongside your website’s terms of use, includes provisions covering:

• genuine review requirements and prohibited fake reviews
• incentivised reviews and disclosure requirements
• moderation, evidence requests, removal, restriction, and annotation of reviews
• misleading review information, including averages, ratings, summaries, and highlighted review content
• user accounts, sanctions, and repeat breaches
• the relationship between the policy, website terms, and applicable consumer law

Updated Website Terms of Use

A number of our Website Terms of Use templates have also been updated to work with the new Reviews Policy.

The updates introduce optional wording for websites that publish user reviews, including clearer references to review-specific rules, moderation rights, acceptable use, account sanctions, and the relationship between user reviews and other user-submitted content.

Additional Updates to Digital Content Terms of Use

The Website Terms of Use for the Sale of Digital Content have received additional updates to reflect the distinction between general website content and paid digital content.

Why Are These Updates Important?

The DMCC Act’s fake reviews rules are not limited to obviously false reviews. They also affect how review information is collected, checked, displayed, summarised, and used. Businesses that publish reviews should therefore have clear rules and practical procedures in place.

Used together, the new Reviews Policy and updated Terms of Use templates help website operators set transparent review standards, manage user-submitted reviews more effectively, and strengthen consumer confidence in the information shown on their website.