Zomato deletes review flagging health risk at Bengaluru restaurant, draws flak

After deleting the review, Zomato said that as per its content guidelines, possible health code violations should be reported to the authorities and not on the review section of the platform.
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Food delivery platform Zomato has come under fire for taking down the review of a user, who pointed out that she contracted food poisoning after eating at a restaurant in Bengaluru. The user, a woman named Disha Sanghvi, had complained about the same on the review section of the restaurant’s profile on Zomato, to inform other potential patrons. However, the review was taken down by Zomato, claiming that the platform was not the right place to flag potential health code violations.

Disha shared how Zomato took down her review on social media. In a tweet, she mentioned that she wasn't the only individual who experienced a health emergency after eating at the particular restaurant. She included a screenshot of another review written by a customer who had a similar experience to back up her allegation. She wrote, “A recent visit to a restaurant in Koramangala, B'lore left my colleague and me with a severe case of food poisoning. I wrote a review on @zomato and while doing so, found that many people had a similar experience in the last few months. Zomato took down the review citing this.”

After the review was deleted, Disha received an email from Zomato, which said that it is not the right place to report possible health code violations. “We do have a few restrictions when it comes to content that is permitted on Zomato. As per our content guidelines, Zomato is not the appropriate platform for reporting health code violations. We believe that this particular subject is best reported to concerned authorities who can investigate the matter. Due to this reason, your review has been deleted,” the email, of which Disha posted a screenshot, read.

Disha’s tweet detailing her experience was shared widely on social media, and many users questioned Zomato’s content guidelines. One user wrote, “If people cannot share their experience in the comments and that’s called ‘abusing’ then what are the comments for?”

The Zomato website states that it is “not the appropriate platform for reporting illegal activities, physical confrontations, health code violations, or anything under investigation by local governing bodies or law-enforcement personnel”. “If you have a dispute with a restaurant, or if you feel a restaurant does not measure up to health codes, we encourage you to contact the appropriate authorities directly. We encourage that such accusations be reported to the concerned authorities rather than being mentioned in reviews.”

Every user’s reviews, photos, profiles and comments shared on the Zomato platform are subject to the platform’s content guidelines, the website adds. “If your activity on Zomato doesn't match up to these content guidelines, we reserve the right to take action as we deem necessary. This could include altering or deleting your reviews or comments, restricting your review activity or deleting your Zomato account altogether, with or without notice. Zomato also utilizes an algorithm to aid in removing suspicious reviews,” it states.

After Disha tweeted about the incident, she received an automated reply from Zomato’s Twitter handle, which claimed that the issue would be addressed. However, Disha told TNM that while she has shared her phone number with Zomato, there has been no further communication from the company.

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