Although it is hard to imagine Congress accomplishing anything these days, it actually passed a new law recently, known as the Consumer Review Fairness Act, which prohibits companies from threatening to sue or otherwise penalizing consumers for posting negative reviews or complaints. The law was enacted to protect a person’s ability to share in any forum its honest opinions about a business’ products, services, or conduct.
The law protects a broad variety of honest consumer assessments, including online reviews, social media posts, uploaded photos, videos, etc. And it doesn’t just cover product reviews. It also applies to consumer evaluations of a company’s customer service.
The law makes it illegal for a company to use a contract provision that:
- bars or restricts the ability of a person who is a party to that contract to review a company’s products, services, or conduct;
- imposes a penalty or fee against someone who gives a review; or
- requires people to give up their intellectual property rights in the content of their reviews.
Keep in mind that for an online transaction, it would be unlawful for a company to include a provision in its Terms of Use that prohibits or punishes negative reviews by customers. The law does not apply to employment contracts or agreements with independent contractors.
The law states that a business may prohibit or remove a review that is clearly false or misleading but the Federal Trade Commission has stated that it’s unlikely that a consumer’s assessment or opinion would meet a “clearly false or misleading” standard.
If you have any questions, let me know.
