Bad Reviews and Online Defamation: How To Handle it When it Happens to You

The ability for consumers to review your business online is everywhere. Social media and review sites and apps have given a lot of ownership to consumers.

But while some consumers use that power responsibly, some do not. And when consumers use these apps carelessly, it can lead to people saying things about your business that are false and that hurt your business.

So if a consumer does say something harmful, insulting or damaging, do you have a right to fight back? What can your business do to stop people from saying defamatory things online?

Is it Defamation?

The first question is whether what is being posted is, in fact, defamatory.

Remember one defense to defamation is truth. So, if the consumer (the reviewer) is saying something true, and you were to sue for defamation, you could not only lose the case, but have it exposed that what the consumer said was absolutely correct.

Assuming that what the poster posted was, in fact, false, the next question is whether or not what was said was a statement of (asserted) fact; you can’t sue for an opinion (for example, “worst business ever.”)

Practical Problems

The practical problem with going after reviewers who post defamatory information is identifying the consumer. Social media sites may be easier, as many people use their names, but that doesn’t mean you have any idea where they are or where they live if you did want to take legal action against them.

Almost every site which hosts reviews will not simply hand over the identification of those on their platform; you may have to go to court, possibly in another state or jurisdiction, to compel a company to hand over identifying, personal information.

And if you were thinking of suing the sites themselves that host this kind of information, you will have a difficult time; federal law immunizes sites that host message boards, reviews, and online platforms, from liability for the things that others say on their sites.

If this all wasn’t a deterrent, there is another possible problem: Even if you find the poster, sue them, and win, collection may be difficult. Most people who say these kinds of defamatory things are ordinary people, who can’t or will not satisfy a judgment even if it were entered against them.

What Can You Do?

All of this doesn’t mean you should just succumb to and accept defamatory statements made against your business.

You can ask the companies hosting the comments, to take them down. Many do not even want to bother with legal action, and would sooner take down a defamatory statement than to have it balloon into major litigation.

Or, if you just send a threatening letter/email to the poster, that can be enough to have defamatory comments removed.

Call our Fort Lauderdale business lawyers at Sweeney Law P.A. at 954-440-3993 today.

Sources:

washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/06/30/fake-reviews-online-ftc/#:~:text=The%20Federal%20Trade%20Commission%20on,Tech%20is%20not%20your%20friend.

dmlp.org/legal-guide/publishing-statements-and-content-others