Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission announced its final rule addressing consumer reviews and testimonials. With this rule, the Commission takes aim at “fake” reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their sale or purchase...more
A year ago, the FTC and six states filed a lawsuit against Roomster and its owners, alleging that they had posted “tens of thousands of fake positive reviews to bolster their false claims that properties listed on their...more
If a third-party writes a good review of your product – or, even better, rates it as one of the best – can you link to that review? A new NAD decisions suggests that the answer may not be as easy as people think....more
Fake reviews continue to be a hot topic in consumer protection. In 2022, we reported that six states and the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Roomster – a platform through which people can find rooms and...more
The FTC has made it a priority to combat fake and misleading reviews. For example, just this year alone, the FTC announced a settlement with a retailer over its failure to post negative reviews, announced a settlement with...more
The FTC and six states just announced that they had filed a lawsuit against Roomster – a platform through which people can find rooms and roommates – along with its owners, alleging that they had “inundated the internet with...more
In January, we posted that Fashion Nova had agreed to settle an FTC complaint alleging that the company’s practice of suppressing negative reviews on its site “deprives consumers of potentially useful information and...more
Last year, Prose – a company that makes customized haircare products – brought an NAD challenge against a competitor, Function, over Function’s claims that it had over 110,000 5-star product reviews. Shortly after that,...more
Last week, we wrote about the FTC’s first case involving a company’s failure to post negative reviews. Just a few days later, the FTC reached a $3.5 million settlement with Hubble Contacts. Although much of the FTC’s...more
Companies often ask us whether they can highlight positive reviews without mentioning negative ones. The good news is that there are ways to do that, but when the conversation veers from highlighting positive reviews to...more
As advertisers wait to see what the FTC will do after sending 700 warning letters related to influencers and incentivized reviews, the NAD has been resolving disputes on similar issues. Yesterday, NAD announced a new decision...more
Earlier this year, Prose – a company that makes customized haircare products – brought an NAD challenge against Function – a competitor in the same business – over Function’s claims that it had over 110,000 5-star product...more
Function claimed that it had “over 110,000 5-star product reviews” for its hair care products, the majority of which come from its “shampoo and conditioner” category. A competitor filed an NAD challenge pointing out that the...more
When the FTC decides not to pursue an investigation, it often issues a short closing letter to the company explaining why FTC staff decided not to recommend enforcement. The letters are just a few paragraphs long and don’t...more
Because consumer reviews are so important in today’s marketplace, many companies go to great lengths to increase their number of favorable reviews. Sometimes, they go too far. We’ve written about FTC and NAD cases in which...more
This is not another post about coronavirus claims, but we do need to start there.
Truvani makes a dietary supplement that was formerly called “Under the Weather.”...more
Yesterday, the FTC announced that it had reached a settlement with LendEDU and three of its officers over misleading ratings and reviews.
LendEDU runs a website that compares student loans and other financial products....more
This week, the FTC announced a settlement with Sunday Riley Modern Skincare and its CEO, Sunday Riley, over allegations that company managers and employees posted fake reviews on Sephora.com....more
NAD recently announced a decision involving Pyle Audio’s campaign to generate reviews for its NutriChef brand vacuum sealers. When consumers received their products, they would find a card promising them two rolls of vacuum...more
The Consumer Review Fairness Act was enacted in 2016 to protect consumers’ ability to share their opinions about businesses. In general, the law prohibits companies from using form contracts that: (a) prohibit or restrict...more
This week, the FTC announced a settlement with UrthBox and its president that addresses two topics that we frequently cover on this blog: (1) free trials; and (2) incentivized reviews....more
This week, the FTC announced its first case involving fake reviews on an independent website.
Cure Encapsulations sells a weight-loss product exclusively on Amazon. When the company wanted to boost its sales, its owner...more
The NAD recently announced a decision that touches upon various issues related to consumer reviews, including how paid endorsements should be disclosed, a company’s responsibilities regarding the content of endorsements, and...more
The Ninth Circuit recently reaffirmed the protection afforded to website providers and users under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. In that case, a locksmith sued Yelp over a bad review and one-star rating that...more
Traditionally, when companies wanted to advertise that consumers preferred their product over another product, the companies would substantiate their claim by running a survey. Consumers would be stopped in a mall, called, or...more