Fashion Nova last week was ordered to pay $4.2 million to settle allegations that it concealed unfavorable reviews on its website.
According to the complaint from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the fast-fashion site, known for its collaboration with artists Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, used a third-party review management tool that allowed four- and five-star reviews to automatically post on its site while requiring approval for lower-starred reviews.
The FTC said that from late 2015 until November 2019, hundreds of thousands of lower-starred reviews were never approved or posted. The case is the FTC’s first involving a company’s efforts to conceal negative customer reviews.