Your business got roasted online. Now check the legal fine print.
EXPERT OPINION BY KEN STERLING, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, BIGSPEAK @MEDIALAWWOLF
Has your business received a bad review? My Century City law firm hears from clients all the time about bad reviews, ranging from F1000 companies to mom-and-pop shops. No matter what platform they’re published on — Google, Yelp, Glassdoor, The Tea — they can impact your business.
As an attorney and entrepreneur, I support the First Amendment and believe honest reviews matter. Honest criticism deserves protection, and it can improve your business. Fake customer stories and competitor smear campaigns do not.
So, what can you do? And can you get a bad review taken down? Sometimes, the answer is yes.
Here is what you need to know before
Here is what you need to know before you can have a review taken down or pursue a defamation case.
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1. Is the review a false statement of fact?
No one wins a defamation case simply because a review is mean or harmful. You must establish that the reviewer published a false and defamatory statement of fact about your company and that the statement caused harm to your business.
The distinction between fact and opinion is critical:
- Opinion: “This was the worst restaurant experience of my life.”
- Fact: “The restaurant charged my credit card three times and refused to refund me.”
- Opinion: “They are dishonest.”
- Fact: “They did not refund my deposit.”
Truth, or substantial truth, is a complete defense. I sometimes describe it as the Monopoly get-out-of-jail-free card.
Source: www.inc.com
