FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Marianne Le Moullec, Gaëlle Robic and Joséphine Perrin, Orasis Avocats
5.5.3 Consumer Reviews The French Consumer Code has specific provisions that apply to online consumer reviews, transpos - ing the provisions of EU Directive 2019/2161 of 27 November 2019. The governing principle is set out in Article L.111-7-2 of the French Consumer Code, which states that any person collecting or displaying online consumer reviews must deliver loyal, clear and transparent information on such reviews. Such infor - mation must include: • whether or not the reviews have been subject to verification and, if yes, the means of this verifica - tion process; • the date of the review and any updates; • information for consumers on the reasons why their reviews have been rejected from publication; and • a free feature enabling the reporting of any doubts on the authenticity of a review. Next to the consumer review, the following must be written in a clear and visible way: • whether or not the reviews are monitored; • the publication date of each review and the date of the consumer experience relating to the review; and • the criteria for ranking reviews, including chrono - logical ranking. In addition, the following information must be indi - cated in a specific, easily accessible section: • whether or not compensation is provided in exchange for submitting a review; and • the maximum period for publishing and retaining a review. In case of refusal to publish a review, the consumer must be informed of the reasons by any means. Publishing “consumer reviews” without taking reason - able and proportionate steps to ensure that reviews originate from actual consumers is a misleading com - mercial practice (Article L.121-4 27° of the French Consumer Code). The advertiser must also verify that the personal data is collected and used in compliance with the French Data Protection Act. Mentioning that a
review is “verified” when there has been no monitoring is a misleading practice. Non-compliance with the compulsory information obligations on consumer reviews is sanctioned by an administrative fine of up to EUR75,000 for a natural person and up to EUR375,000 for a legal person (Arti - cle L.134-4 of the French Consumer Code). The following practices are listed as misleading in the list contained in Article L.121-4 of the French Con - sumer Code: • publishing a fake review pretending to be a con - sumer; • stating that reviews of a product are submitted by consumers who have actually used or purchased the product without taking reasonable and pro - portionate steps to check that they originate from such consumers; and • submitting or commissioning another person to submit false consumer reviews or endorsements, or misrepresenting consumer reviews or social endorsements, in order to promote products. An advertiser may also be sued by a competitor and held liable for unfair competition (tort liability) if it: • does not comply with the compulsory information on online consumer reviews; • publishes a fake consumer review; • filters reviews to show only positive reviews; or • states that the reviews are “verified” when they are not (see Court of Appeal of Versailles, 22 January 2025, No 22/05851; see also decision of the Paris Commerce Court, 11/12/2023 No J2021000637).
6. Privacy and Advertising 6.1 Email Marketing
In accordance with Article L.34-5 of the French Code on Post and Electronic Communications, email mar - keting towards consumers (B2C) requires the prior consent of the consumer. To be considered as valid under GDPR rules, consent must be freely given, spe - cific, informed and unambiguous. It requires a positive action from the consumers (“opt-in”); a checkbox is
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