Information Asymmetry Due to Digital Review Manipulation in E-Commerce: A Reconstruction of Consumer Protection Law Based on Sadd al-Dharā'i
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21111/al-iktisab.v10i2.26Keywords:
Information asymmetry , E-commerce , Reconstruction , Consumer protection law , Sadd Al-Dhara’iAbstract
The increasing reliance on digital reviews in e-commerce has turned consumer reviews into one of the primary sources of information for purchasing decisions. Digital reviews are expected to reduce information asymmetry by providing consumers with knowledge regarding product quality and seller credibility. However, the rise of review manipulation practices, including fictitious transactions, paid reviews, and automated accounts, has shifted the function of reviews from reducing information asymmetry to reproducing and expanding it. Such practices create distorted information environments in which consumers encounter not only limited information but also misleading information generated through manipulated digital reputation systems This study aims to analyze information asymmetry arising from digital review manipulation, evaluate Indonesia's consumer protection legal framework based on Lawrence M. Friedman's legal system theory, and formulate a preventive legal reconstruction based on the principle of sadd al-dharā’i. This study employs normative juridical methods using statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches. The findings reveal that review manipulation generates three forms of information distortion, namely hidden information, misleading information, and algorithmic amplification, which collectively affect consumer rationality in making transaction decisions. Furthermore, Indonesia's positive legal framework remains ineffective due to weaknesses in legal substance, legal structure, and legal culture in addressing digital review manipulation. Based on the principle of sadd al-dharā'i, this study proposes legal reconstruction through mandatory review verification (verified purchase), transparency of recommendation systems, periodic algorithmic audits, explicit prohibition of digital review manipulation, and strengthening of institutional supervision. These measures are intended to protect consumers' rational decision-making (ḥifẓ al-'aql) and economic interests (ḥifẓ al-māl) while preventing the reproduction of information asymmetry in digital commerce.
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