The Criminal Regulation of Organized Fake Transactions and Inflated Reviews

Yuetong Liu

doi:10.54254/2753-7048/2025.21989

Research Article

Open access

Published on 10 April 2025

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Liu,Y. (2025). The Criminal Regulation of Organized Fake Transactions and Inflated Reviews. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,82,55-64.

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The Criminal Regulation of Organized Fake Transactions and Inflated Reviews

Yuetong Liu *^,1,

¹ School of Languages and Communication Studies, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/2025.21989

Abstract

This paper examines the phenomenon of review manipulation in e-commerce, which significantly undermines consumer rights, disrupts fair competition, and poses a substantial threat to platform credibility and the healthy development of the market. The inadequacy of current regulatory measures necessitates the urgent involvement of criminal law. Through an analysis of the real-world harms caused by review manipulation and the necessity of criminal law regulation, this paper highlights theoretical justifications for criminal intervention and identifies inconsistencies in the classification of offenses and sentencing standards in judicial practice. Furthermore, the paper provides a comprehensive legal analysis of review manipulation, including its classification, characteristics as a cybercrime, multi-dimensional harm to legal interests, and the multifaceted considerations of its criminal regulation. The study identifies existing challenges in the application of relevant offenses, including illegal business operations, false advertising, and damage to business reputation, and explores their limitations. Based on these findings, the paper advocates for legislative reform to establish a distinct offense targeting organized review manipulation, emphasizing the importance of civil and administrative remedies, technological innovation by platforms, and the supplementary role of criminal law as a last resort. Practical recommendations are provided to improve regulation at legislative, judicial, and societal levels, aiming to offer a robust framework for combating review manipulation and ensuring fair competition in e-commerce.

Keywords

review manipulation, illegal business operations, false advertising, criminal law interpretation

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References

[1]. Refer to the Criminal Judgment No. (2016) Zhe 0110 Xing Chu 726 issued by the People’s Court of Yuhang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province.

[2]. Refer to the Criminal Judgment No. (2020) Min 0304 Xing Chu 95 issued by the People’s Court of Licheng District, Putian City, Fujian Province.

[3]. Wang Huawai. The Application and Interpretative Concepts of Criminal Law in Review Manipulation [J]. China Criminal Law Journal, 2018, (06): 95-111. DOI:10.19430/j.cnki.3891.2018.06.006.

[4]. Ma Yongqiang. Criminal Identification and Integration of Administrative and Criminal Law in Positive Review Manipulation [J]. Application of Law, 2020, (24): 63-78.

[5]. Ye Liangfang. Normative Analysis and Governance Path of Review Manipulation Behavior [J]. Law Science, 2018, (03): 177-191.

[6]. Zhou Xiang, Nong Haidong. Misconceptions and Criminal Law Evaluation of Review Manipulation Types [J]. Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 2020, 42(01): 190-196.

Cite this article

Liu,Y. (2025). The Criminal Regulation of Organized Fake Transactions and Inflated Reviews. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,82,55-64.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Social Psychology and Humanity Studies

Conference website: https://2025.icsphs.org

ISBN：978-1-83558-933-5(Print) / 978-1-83558-934-2(Online)

Conference date: 14 February 2025

Editor：Kurt Buhring, Javier Cifuentes-Faura

Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media

Volume number: Vol.82

ISSN：2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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