Opinion of the Competition Authority on rating systems
In an opinion of 9 January 2025, the Competition Authority makes recommendations to publishers of rating systems for products and services.
In an opinion of 9 January 2025, the Competition Authority makes recommendations to publishers of rating systems for products and services.
In February 2024, the Competition Authority decided to seek its own opinion in order to analyse the competitive functioning of the sector of rating systems aimed at informing consumers about the characteristics related to the sustainable development of consumer products and services.
In its opinion, the Authority notes that rating systems are booming in many sectors. While they are very diverse insofar as they affect sectors of activity and heterogeneous products and services, their common objective is to give a graduated appreciation of a product or service in order to make a set of information readable for the consumer.
ARCEP emphasizes that these systems, by providing simplified and educational information to consumers on characteristics related to sustainable development meet certain consumer expectations, encourage companies to innovate and can contribute to the animation of the competitive game in the markets of products or services they evaluate.
However, the Authority has reservations about rating systems jointly developed or constructed by competitors, when they result in a large majority of their products receiving a similar rating on a given product, other than on the merits.
It stresses that the rating must be based on objective characteristics and not result from concerted action aimed at companies to avoid competing on this parameter and which could constitute a practice contrary to competition law.
The Authority also draws the attention of publishers to the holding of preparatory work for a rating system when it involves bringing together competitors. It recalls the rules relating to the exchange of information and the risks of collusion in this context and highlights the challenges of the representativeness of the participants in these meetings, in particular when the companies participating in them manufacture or distribute the products that will be rated or when the rating system emanates from the public authorities or is of a binding nature.
ARCEP makes the following recommendations to publishers of rating systems:
- Be transparent with companies whose products or services are rated and with consumers regarding the governance of the rating system (sources of funding and, where applicable, remuneration of the rating system, possible links with third parties or any other element likely to have an impact on the choice of the method of calculation of the rating system) and regarding the participants in the design of the rating system (rated companies, scientific team, government participation, etc.).
- Inform the companies whose products or services are rated as well as consumers of the sustainability characteristics evaluated, as well as all the elements allowing the construction of the rating (data, criteria, weighting) and its updating. This information must be clear, legible and accessible quickly and easily.
- Ensure the soundness of the method (scoring criteria and weighting given to each of them) and the reliability (precision and accuracy) of the data they use, by carrying out checks on the data sources and allowing a correction mechanism (change in composition of a product or error) within a reasonable time.
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