Online Reviews and Defamation

Everyone is online nowadays. People are social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram posting constant updates about their lives. Many are also leaving reviews about businesses on sites such as Yelp, Google, and Trip Advisor.

If you received subpar service from a company, you may think nothing of leaving a bad review online. However, online reviews carry a lot of weight for business and can make or break them. While a customer may be only trying to help others make decisions, they could inadvertently be negatively impacting the business of a restaurant, hotel, or other business entity.

Negative online reviews have the power to permanently tarnish a business’ reputation. With this in mind, when does an online review cross the line and turn into a defamation claim that leads to a lawsuit.

Business owners must first understand that there is a difference between a bad review and a defamatory review. You cannot sue someone for leaving a bad review as long as it is the person’s actual or perceived bad experience. In fact, customers have a right to leave bad reviews if a business did not meet their expectations.

Defamatory reviews, on the other hand, are false. They are false reviews solely meant to damage a business’ reputation. An example would be an unhappy customer asking their friends to leave negative reviews for a business to paint them in a negative light. If the customer who wrote the review did not even patronize the business, this can be grounds for a defamation lawsuit.

Why would someone do this? Reviewers may be tempted to lie about their experience if they do not like an employee or business for any reason.

What Businesses Can Do

Businesses can take legal action against defamatory reviews. Here are the steps to take if you want to pursue legal action:

• Address the false review as soon as possible. Contact the reviewer and ask that they remove the defamatory review. Explain why the review is illegal and needs to be removed. You can send a demand letter that includes a deadline for removing the review. You should also make it clear that a lawsuit will be filed if the demand is not met. While you can send this letter on your own, it is more effective to have a lawyer do it.
• Pursue litigation. If the reviewer does not take down the defamatory review in time, you will want to pursue litigation. You can do this by filing a civil defamation claim against the reviewer or applying for an order that requires them to remove the defamatory review. Either way, the court will order the removal of the review. With a defamation claim, though, you can ask to be awarded compensation for damages caused by the defamatory reviews.

Contact Us Today

Business owners need to be wary of what is posted about their company online. Online reviews can cause a lot of damage to their reputation, whether or not they are true.

Running a business is hard. A Bradenton business litigation lawyer from Cahall Law Firm is ready to protect your rights and vindicate your business interests in any business legal dispute. Call (941) 281-2019 or fill out the online form to schedule a consultation.

Source:

law.com/njlawjournal/2022/12/01/online-reviews-and-reputational-damage-the-fine-line-between-opinion-and-defamation/?slreturn=2025011095755