In my book, absolutely, it is extortion. Yelp definitely uses that business model. I would guess that anyone who goes after them will probably suddenly experi

In my book, absolutely, it is extortion. Yelp definitely uses that business model. I would guess that anyone who goes after them will probably suddenly experience a flood of “totally legitimate” one-star ratings, and those reviews would find their way into the court case as a means of discrediting the prosecution’s efforts. Source: experienced this sort of tactic firsthand in a similar kind of dispute over reputation.