TripAdvisor Fined $600K In Italy For Fake Reviews

(RTTNews) - Italian antitrust authority has fined popular travel website TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) 500,000 euros, or $600,000, after receiving complaints of unfair trade practices from hoteliers and National Consumers Union.

The antitrust authority said that TripAdvisor failed to monitor or prevent false reviews at its website and also misled customers to believe its information as authentic and genuine. TripAdvisor website provides travel-related reviews of hotels and restaurants, mainly contributed by users.

TripAdvisor have to pay the fine within 30 days and have to detail steps for compliance within 90 days.

For the third quarter, TripAdvisor's profit dropped 4 percent and were also short of expectations. Meanwhile, sales surged 39 percent to $354 million and trumped estimates.

TRIP is currently trading at $76.04, down $0.83 or 1.08%, on the Nasdaq.