6 ms·

Review sites in any niche industry can be extremely popular. I am a guitarist, and there are a LOT of blogs and Youtube channel reviewing guitars, amps and ped

Review sites in any niche industry can be extremely popular. I am a guitarist, and there are a LOT of blogs and Youtube channel reviewing guitars, amps and pedals. Most are pretty boring, technical reviews which aren't all bad, but get a handful of views. Then there are the channels that thrive on drama and conflict. One particular guitar reviewer is an older chap, with questionable playing skills and knowledge, but he excels in riling up companies, which in turn leads to more publicity and views for him. He is well known for taking expensive electronic gear apart and saying things like "I can't believe they charge $2000 for this guitar effects processor when I know the motherboard and DSP chips on here only cost $200... etc.". When the company refutes these claims or tried to explain, he shuts them down with demands for payment to remove his negative reviews etc. We cannot expect much more though - a whole generation of audience has been trained to seek out such drama and negative energy and latch on to it like a remora to a shark.

Ascetik 9y ago
Yeah basically he is committing extortion and blackmail, pretty sad.
- whamlastxmas 9y ago
  More accurately, he's accepting bribes to silence his freedom of speech. He's entirely in his right to have negative reviews as long as they're truthful.
  - graeme 9y ago
    That’s blackmail. Making a legal threat and making a legal money request combine into an illegal act.
    - saimiam 9y ago
      What law says I can’t give you an incentive to stop badmouthing me? According to this link, defamation - written (libelous) or verbal (derogatory) - is a civil matter and not a crime. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/defamation-law-made-simple-29718.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/defamation-law-made-...
      - zebnyc 9y ago
        Since you are arguing the difference between bribery & extortion: "Extortion could occur between two businessmen and still be a criminal offense, whereas bribery is primarily focused on the bribing of Government employees or bribing by Government employees. But the most important difference is the difference between a threat to do harm in extortion and an offer to do good in bribery." https://criminal.laws.com/bribery/bribery-versus-extortion https://criminal.laws.com/bribery/bribery-versus-extortion
        saimiam 9y ago
        I wasn’t arguing bribery vs extortion. I was questioning whether defaming someone is an illegal act. Since you’ve brought it up, is it extortion to offer up a negative opinion and then to offer to take down a negative opinion? The public space is as much yours as mine to say what we will about whatever subject under the sun including each other. E.g., “I believe zebnyc eats donkey meat for breakfast. I don’t think he should be allowed to do this.” Now, if you were applying for a PETA contract, this opinion of mine could hurt you financially. So if I offered to take down this opinion for money, what illegal act have I committed? My opinion of your eating habits is valuable to you because of your external circumstances namely your PETA contract. Is this any different from this guy stating that he doesn’t understand why a piece of equipment should cost in the thousands when to make it should cost in the low hundreds. The company could have argued the actual cost teardown or said that they attach their QA and reputation to each piece of equipment sold so that boosts the price or given him money to shut him up. The chose the last option.
      - gamblor956 9y ago
        See this page[1] for a detailed explanation, which explains that under most extortion laws, the threatened act may be perfectly legal (like leaking photos of someone in a compromised position). It becomes illegal if the threatened act would "harm" the victim and you demand money in exchange for not doing it. (Legally, harm has a very broad scope, and can include loss of reputation.) [edit] Note that what this YTer is doing would probably not be extortion under California law as long as his claims are truthful, as he has already posted the videos, and is only demanding money to take them down. [1] https://www.shouselaw.com/extortion.html https://www.shouselaw.com/extortion.html
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - scott_karana 9y ago
      What's the legal threat, if his estimates of the BOM are truthful?
      - graeme 9y ago
        That's it. You can legally threaten to tell the truth, and you can legally ask for money. But combining those two acts is what's illegal. Note that I may be wrong about this case being blackmail, since the youtube videos are already posted (thanks to gamblor956 for pointing this out). Whereas "Pay me money or I will make a bad youtube video about you" would be blackmail.
wvh 9y ago
Funnily enough, I'm a guitar player too and I know exactly who/what you are talking about... I guess the pool is smaller than I have always assumed. :)

Ascetik 9y ago

Yeah basically he is committing extortion and blackmail, pretty sad.

whamlastxmas 9y ago
More accurately, he's accepting bribes to silence his freedom of speech. He's entirely in his right to have negative reviews as long as they're truthful.
- graeme 9y ago
  That’s blackmail. Making a legal threat and making a legal money request combine into an illegal act.
  - saimiam 9y ago
    What law says I can’t give you an incentive to stop badmouthing me? According to this link, defamation - written (libelous) or verbal (derogatory) - is a civil matter and not a crime. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/defamation-law-made-simple-29718.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/defamation-law-made-...
    - zebnyc 9y ago
      Since you are arguing the difference between bribery & extortion: "Extortion could occur between two businessmen and still be a criminal offense, whereas bribery is primarily focused on the bribing of Government employees or bribing by Government employees. But the most important difference is the difference between a threat to do harm in extortion and an offer to do good in bribery." https://criminal.laws.com/bribery/bribery-versus-extortion https://criminal.laws.com/bribery/bribery-versus-extortion
      - saimiam 9y ago
        I wasn’t arguing bribery vs extortion. I was questioning whether defaming someone is an illegal act. Since you’ve brought it up, is it extortion to offer up a negative opinion and then to offer to take down a negative opinion? The public space is as much yours as mine to say what we will about whatever subject under the sun including each other. E.g., “I believe zebnyc eats donkey meat for breakfast. I don’t think he should be allowed to do this.” Now, if you were applying for a PETA contract, this opinion of mine could hurt you financially. So if I offered to take down this opinion for money, what illegal act have I committed? My opinion of your eating habits is valuable to you because of your external circumstances namely your PETA contract. Is this any different from this guy stating that he doesn’t understand why a piece of equipment should cost in the thousands when to make it should cost in the low hundreds. The company could have argued the actual cost teardown or said that they attach their QA and reputation to each piece of equipment sold so that boosts the price or given him money to shut him up. The chose the last option.
    - gamblor956 9y ago
      See this page[1] for a detailed explanation, which explains that under most extortion laws, the threatened act may be perfectly legal (like leaking photos of someone in a compromised position). It becomes illegal if the threatened act would "harm" the victim and you demand money in exchange for not doing it. (Legally, harm has a very broad scope, and can include loss of reputation.) [edit] Note that what this YTer is doing would probably not be extortion under California law as long as his claims are truthful, as he has already posted the videos, and is only demanding money to take them down. [1] https://www.shouselaw.com/extortion.html https://www.shouselaw.com/extortion.html
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - scott_karana 9y ago
    What's the legal threat, if his estimates of the BOM are truthful?
    - graeme 9y ago
      That's it. You can legally threaten to tell the truth, and you can legally ask for money. But combining those two acts is what's illegal. Note that I may be wrong about this case being blackmail, since the youtube videos are already posted (thanks to gamblor956 for pointing this out). Whereas "Pay me money or I will make a bad youtube video about you" would be blackmail.

wvh 9y ago

Funnily enough, I'm a guitar player too and I know exactly who/what you are talking about... I guess the pool is smaller than I have always assumed. :)