An Amazon spokeswoman explained that when a product is hit with many reviews in a short period of time, the company’s systems will automatically suppress all but “verified” purchases. But this preventative measure, too, can be easily gamed. “People would buy our game, not play it, leave the terrible review, and instantly request a refund,. It’s a well-worn tactic.” In his estimation, user-review systems such as those used by Valve, Steam’s developer, are so vulnerable to exploitation that they require as much moderation as social-media platforms. “The ethics and utility of these systems boil down to this: if a platform is going to have it, they have to be able to manage it to protect people from abuse and harassment, or they become responsible for that abuse”

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