You may see headlines reporting that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into several businesses, including Autotrader and our third-party moderation partner, Feefo, regarding the handling of online consumer reviews.
The CMA is using its new regulatory powers to examine the broader online consumer review system, and specifically, they’re looking at how our moderation processes handle negative consumer reviews to ensure consumers are getting a complete and accurate picture. It’s important to understand that this is an investigation, not a ruling. The CMA has explicitly stated that no conclusions have been reached, and we are co-operating fully with them to demonstrate the robust compliance measures we already have in place. The editorial team would like to make clear that this investigation does not include Autotrader’s editorial online reviews of new cars, written by our highly experienced and skilled in-house team of motoring journalists.
The CMA is using its new regulatory powers to examine the broader online consumer review system, and specifically, they’re looking at how our moderation processes handle negative consumer reviews to ensure consumers are getting a complete and accurate picture. It’s important to understand that this is an investigation, not a ruling. The CMA has explicitly stated that no conclusions have been reached, and we are co-operating fully with them to demonstrate the robust compliance measures we already have in place. The editorial team would like to make clear that this investigation does not include Autotrader’s editorial online reviews of new cars, written by our highly experienced and skilled in-house team of motoring journalists.