3 ms·
I was thinking more along the lines of what counts as advertising vs. user feedback. Not a lawyer, so maybe it doesn't even matter. Still, I'd argue that if you
by rebuilder 6y ago
I was thinking more along the lines of what counts as advertising vs. user feedback. Not a lawyer, so maybe it doesn't even matter. Still, I'd argue that if you are selectively removing negative reviews in order to give a better impression of a product, while giving the customer the impression that the reviews are representative of people who bought the product, you're no longer just publishing reviews. You are now engaged in promoting the product, and you're doing so through dishonest means.
Now is that illegal? I sure don't know. Is it provable? That could be tough, too. But if someone asked me if it's legal to doctor reviews of products, I'd tell them to consult a very good lawyer or two.
- hunter2_ 6y agoTons of advertising includes only glowing reviews/testimonials and it has been going on with newspapers, television, etc. forever. I can't imagine similar selectivity being illegal on websites merely because it's presented in a way that implies (but does not explicitly say) that they're faithfully reproducing everything that has been submitted in good faith.
- rebuilder 6y agoMy argument here is that product reviews become more like advertising once they start being edited or selected for marketing purposes. So e.g. Amazon's reviews do not appear to be advertising, which would make it misleading to bias them in some way. And the rules for what's acceptable in advertising might be different from what's acceptable in providing a neutral forum for customer reviews.