Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe and North America: 756 cases from 32 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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Where?
by regionAll jurisdictions
What for?
by action- Fine €4m 84 % · 1 case
- Disgorgement of profits €786,106 16 % · 2 cases
- Order — 0 % · 3 cases
Who?
by sectorAll sectors
When?
per quarter, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2025 | 2 | — |
| Q2 2025 | 1 | — |
| Q3 2025 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2025 | 1 | €128,557 |
| Q1 2026 | 1 | €4m |
| Q2 2026 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2026 | 1 | €657,549 |
6 cases
17 Mar 2026 Trustpilot Group Plc, Trustpilot A/S, Trustpilot S.r.l.Trustpilot: 4 million EUR fine for inadequate verification of the authenticity of reviews €4m
According to the AGCM, the review platform did not adequately check whether reviews – including those labelled as "verified" – were genuine, and allowed companies to invite specifically selected customers to leave reviews via paid services, which undermined the representativeness of the star ratings. In addition, information on how the platform works and on paid services was lacking; the authority also saw dark pattern elements in this.
Anyone who advertises with verified reviews must actually carry out the verification and disclose the selective collection of reviews.
- Authority / court
- Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM)
- Area of law
- Consumer protection and online retail · Fake reviews
- Legal basis
- Artt. 20, 21, 22 e 23, comma 1, lett. bb-ter Codice del Consumo
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Media and online platforms
- Published
- 23 Mar 2026
- PS12962 - Sanzione di 4 milioni di euro a Trustpilot per pratica commerciale scorretta Press release of an authority
- AGCM Provvedimento PS12962 (Trustpilot), adunanza del 17 marzo 2026 Decision of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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15 Jul 2026 Vanilla Chip LLC (TruHeight)TruHeight: FTC settlement over allegedly fake reviews for growth supplement €657,549
According to the FTC, employees of the dietary supplement provider wrote thousands of five-star reviews, customers received free products or discounts in return for five-star reviews, and bot profiles posed as real users; in addition, there were unsubstantiated growth claims for children and adolescents. The final settlement order provides for a judgment of 4 million USD, which is partially suspended on account of limited ability to pay after payment of 750,000 USD.
Reviews by employees or reviews rewarded for positive star ratings are prohibited and, since 2024, subject to civil penalties.
Fake and purchased customer reviews
- Authority / court
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Area of law
- Consumer protection and online retail · Fake reviews
- Legal basis
- Section 5 FTC Act; FTC Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials
- Action
- Disgorgement of profits
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Partial suspension of the judgment on account of limited ability to pay.
- Liability of senior managers
- The co-founders and co-CEOs Eden Stelmach and Justin Rapoport are personally parties to the order.
- Published
- 15 Jul 2026
Original amount 750,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 15 Jul 2026.
- FTC Takes Action Against TruHeight for Deceptive, Unsubstantiated Advertising Press release of an authority
- FTC Approves Final Order Against TruHeight (15.07.2026) Press release of an authority
- FTC Case: TruHeight (Vanilla Chip LLC), Docket C-4837, Final Decision and Order Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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3 Dec 2025 Southern Health Solutions, Inc. (Next Medical / NextMed)NextMed: FTC settlement over allegations of hidden costs and review manipulation €128,557
According to the FTC, the telemedicine company advertised GLP-1 weight-loss programmes with monthly prices that did not include medication, laboratory costs and medical consultations, concealed the minimum term and cancellation fees, published fake testimonials from employees and relatives, and induced customers to delete negative reviews by offering vouchers or refunds. Under the final settlement order, the company and its management are paying 150,000 USD, which is earmarked for refunds.
"Buying off" negative reviews with vouchers is just as misleading as inventing positive ones.
Review manipulation and price disclosures
- Authority / court
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Area of law
- Consumer protection and online retail · Fake reviews
- Legal basis
- Section 5 FTC Act; Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA)
- Action
- Disgorgement of profits
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Healthcare
- Liability of senior managers
- Founder Robert Epstein and CEO Frank Leonardo III are named in the press release as parties involved.
- Published
- 3 Dec 2025
Original amount 150,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 3 Dec 2025.
- FTC Takes Action Against Telemedicine Firm NextMed Press release of an authority
- FTC Approves Final Order against Telehealth Provider NextMed (03.12.2025) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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6 Jun 2025 AmazonAmazon commits to the CMA to tougher action against fake reviews Order
Following an investigation into fake reviews and "catalogue abuse" (transferring good reviews to other products), Amazon undertook to the CMA to detect and remove such reviews quickly, to sanction infringing sellers up to and including a ban on selling, and to set up simple reporting channels.
Anyone who publishes reviews must maintain active processes against fakes and the transfer of reviews.
- Authority / court
- Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
- Area of law
- Consumer protection and online retail · Fake reviews
- Legal basis
- Enterprise Act 2002, Part 8 (Verpflichtungszusagen nach altem Durchsetzungsregime)
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Retail and e-commerce
- Employees
- 10,000 or more
- Mitigating circumstances
- Voluntary undertakings without a fine.
- Published
- 6 Jun 2025
- Amazon gives undertakings to CMA to curb fake reviews Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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24 Jan 2025 GoogleGoogle commits to the CMA to tougher action against fake reviews Order
Google undertook to the CMA to improve the detection and removal of fake reviews, to ban repeat offenders worldwide, to place warnings on business profiles with manipulated reviews and deactivate their review function, and to set up simple reporting channels; the CMA will monitor implementation for three years.
Companies that buy reviews risk visible warnings and the loss of their reviews on platforms.
- Authority / court
- Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
- Area of law
- Consumer protection and online retail · Fake reviews
- Legal basis
- Britisches Verbraucherschutzrecht (Verpflichtungszusagen)
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Media and online platforms
- Employees
- 10,000 or more
- Mitigating circumstances
- Voluntary undertakings without a fine.
- Published
- 24 Jan 2025
- CMA secures important changes from Google to tackle fake reviews Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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3 Jan 2025 GGL Projects, Inc. (Sitejabber)Sitejabber: review platform counted reviews before goods were received Order
According to the FTC, the AI-powered review platform collected star ratings for its business customers at the time of purchase, before customers had received the product or service, thereby inflating average ratings and review counts, including in search engine results. The FTC issued a final settlement order prohibiting such misrepresentations.
Ratings submitted before use must not be included in averages as experience-based reviews.
- Authority / court
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Area of law
- Consumer protection and online retail · Fake reviews
- Legal basis
- Section 5 FTC Act
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Media and online platforms
- Published
- 3 Jan 2025
- FTC Approves Final Order against Sitejabber Press release of an authority
- FTC Case: Sitejabber (In the Matter of GGL Projects, Inc.) Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link