Reviews and follower counts influence buying decisions, so the FTC now has a rule specifically against faking them.
In this guide
- The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials took effect on October 21, 2024.
- It bans fake reviews, including AI-generated ones, and rewards that depend on a positive or negative review.
- Reviews from employees, managers or relatives must have the connection clearly disclosed.
- Buying fake followers or views to look more popular is also prohibited.
Online reviews are one of the first things customers check. The FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, which took effect on October 21, 2024, lets the agency seek civil penalties against businesses that fake them.
What the rule prohibits
- Fake reviews and testimonials: reviews from people who don’t exist, didn’t use the product, or misrepresent their experience. AI-generated fake reviews are included.
- Buying reviews with strings attached: offering a reward on the condition that the review is positive, or negative about a competitor.
- Undisclosed insider reviews: reviews by a company’s officers, managers, employees or agents, or their relatives, without a clear disclosure of the connection.
- Company-controlled “independent” review sites that claim to be impartial.
- Review suppression: using unfounded legal threats, intimidation or false accusations to get reviews removed, or hiding negative reviews while presenting the rest as complete.
- Fake social media indicators: buying or selling followers or views generated by bots or hijacked accounts to misrepresent influence.
Good to know: Penalties can apply to each violation, and the maximum is adjusted for inflation each year. For a small business, the bigger cost is usually lost trust when customers spot a fake.
How to get more honest reviews
- Ask every customer, not just the happy ones, at a natural moment such as after delivery or a completed job.
- Make it easy with a direct link to your review page.
- Respond to reviews, good and bad, politely and promptly. Our guide to handling negative comments helps with the hard ones.
- Train staff not to post reviews of the business, or to disclose clearly if they do.
Check your contracts
The Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 bans “gag clauses” in standard customer contracts that restrict honest reviews or charge customers for posting them. If your terms include anything like that, remove it.
The same principle applies to paid promotion: see how to disclose paid posts the way the FTC expects.
FAQ
Can I offer a discount to customers who leave a review?
The FTC rule bans incentives that depend on the review being positive or negative. Many review sites ban incentives altogether, so check each site’s rules before offering anything.
Can I delete negative comments on my own page?
Removing spam, abuse or off-topic posts is reasonable. Hiding honest negative reviews while claiming your displayed reviews represent everyone’s views can break the rule.
Can a contract stop customers posting bad reviews?
No. The Consumer Review Fairness Act makes clauses in standard customer contracts that restrict or penalize honest reviews unenforceable and illegal to include.
General information for U.S. businesses, not legal advice. Platform features and rules change often, so check the FTC’s guidance and each platform’s current policies before you act.
