Businesses in Spain will be able to request removal of negative reviews if they can prove they are fake

Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs has waged war on the damage caused to small businesses by fake reviews. On 13 November, the meeting of the lower house chamber (Congreso) approved the law on customer services, which has now been sent to the upper house (Senado) for further processing. Its aim is none other than to set basic quality standards and ensure that consumers are not abused. The so-called Sac law regulates different practices considered to be harmful to customers, from spam calls, to the automatic renewal of subscriptions and streaming services and tedious complaint resolution times.

Among the many aspects addressed by the new regulation is the prosecution of false online reviews. With the entry into force of this law, evaluations will be allowed only within 30 days after the product has been purchased or the service has been received. In addition, companies will also be able to reply to these comments and ask for them to be removed if they can prove that a review is not real by demonstrating that the person writing it has not bought the product or requested the service.

The text, which was approved with 179 votes in favour, 33 against and 138 abstentions, will now go to Senado and then return to Congreso for final approval.

Other measures in the proposal oblige companies to ensure that 95% of telephone calls are answered within three minutes and that customers are able to speak directly to a specialised operator at any stage of the enquiry or complaint. The regulation bans companies from handling calls exclusively through automated responses.

The attention provided will also have to be personalised according to factors such as the user's age, disability or administrative situation.

Companies with more than 250 employees, with a turnover of more than 50 million euros or which provide services of general interest will have to comply with the requirements of the new regulatory framework. In addition, as agreed between the regional government of Catalonia and the central government, companies will be obliged to provide customer service in the co-official languages of the region.

Companies must resolve any claim or complaint within 15 days of receiving it. This period, however, is reduced to five days for complaints related to undue charges. The law will also ban the increase of a price of a purchase such as a concert or a plane ticket during the process. The initial price the user sees and assumes they are going to spend will be the final price they pay, with no additional costs involved.

The draft legislation also puts an end to automatic renewals. Companies will have to give a notice of 15 days before a renewal. The consumer will then be able to decide whether to continue with the subscription and cancel it if they want, which the company must provide as an option.

While waiting for the new law to come into force, the national institute of cybersecurity (Incibe) has put together a series of recommendations for companies to defend themselves against reviews with false and defamatory information that could negatively affect their reputation. "From a legal point of view, companies are protected by the right to corporate honour in the face of acts that may undermine their reputation and negatively affect it," the organisation states.

Incibe provides the following guidelines:

-Contact the platform on which the fake reviews are posted so that they can assist you and take appropriate action.

-Collect all the evidence you can.

-File a complaint with the state security forces and corps.

In the event that the facts could constitute slander or libel, Incibe urges criminal prosecution. "If there has been improper processing of personal data, a complaint should be filed with the spanish data protection agency. In addition, consider the possibility of consulting a lawyer specialised in the matter," Incibe recommends.