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Deceptive Reviews, Endorsements, or Testimonials
Online Advertising and Marketing
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Internet Law
FTC alleges deception in “unbiased”
review site’s ratings and rankings
By: Lesley Fair | Feb 3, 2020 11:10AM
Republication:
Top picks, star ratings, in-depth
reviews. Many consumers don’t buy anything without consulting third-party
review sites or checking out the opinions of other customers. But how often are
those ratings the product of buying and selling between the “independent” site
and companies willing to pay for better play? And are those reviews really from
satisfied customers or are they from employees acting on instructions to stuff
the ballot box with five-star ratings?
Honor your claims about objectivity. Lots of sites represent themselves as honest brokers of accurate
information. But if you claim that compensation doesn’t factor into your
content, that has to be a truthful statement. Also, if you receive compensation
from companies you rate or rank, would that financial connection be material to
consumers in deciding whether to do business with those companies? If so,
clearly disclose the connection.
Avoid “behest-imonials.” This isn’t the first time the FTC has challenged deceptive reviews,
endorsements, or testimonials. There are at least three ways that posting
customer reviews can go off the rails: 1) if the reviews don’t reflect the
actual experience of the reviewers; 2) if there is an undisclosed material
connection between the reviewer and advertiser – for example, if the reviewer
is an employee, friend, or family member; and 3) if the advertiser fabricates
reviews from whole cloth.
