The US online retail giant has filed a lawsuit in Seattle, Washington.
It says its brand reputation is being damaged by "false,
misleading and inauthentic" reviews paid for by sellers seeking to improve
the appeal of their products.
It comes after Amazon sued a number of websites
in April for selling fake reviews.
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Amazon says the 1,114 defendants, termed "John Does" as the
company does not yet know their real names, offer a false review service for as
little as $5 (£3.24) on the website Fiverr.com,
with most promising five-star reviews for a seller's products.
"While small in number, these reviews can significantly undermine
the trust that consumers and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers
place in Amazon, which in turn tarnishes Amazon's brand," the technology
giant said in its complaint, which was filed on Friday.
Amazon said it had conducted an investigation, which included
purchasing fake customer reviews on Fiverr from people who promised five-star
ratings and offered to allow purchasers to write reviews.
It said it had observed fake review sellers attempting to avoid
detection by using multiple accounts from unique IP addresses.
Amazon said the lawsuit was not targeting Fiverr, which is not a
defendant in the complaint. Fiverr said it was working with Amazon to resolve
the issue.
"Amazon is bringing this action to protect its customers from this
misconduct, by stopping defendants and uprooting the ecosystem in which they
participate," the lawsuit says.
Anyone, whether they are a customer or not, has the ability to review
products sold on Amazon's online store, but the rules of the site forbid
paid-for or fictional reviews.
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