FTC releases guidance about online reviews

The Federal Trade Commission (FCT) today released guidance for businesses about online reviews, one for websites and platforms that collect, moderate, and publish reviews, and another for marketers who may solicit or pay for reviews of their own products and services.

FCT advises platforms to favor transparency on how they deal with reviews, to identify incentives and material connections between sellers and reviewers, to treat positive and negative reviews equally, to have reasonable processes in place to spot fake or deceptive reviews, and to have effective reporting mechanisms for consumers and businesses to use.

The guidance document for marketers focuses on how they solicit reviews from customers, use other companies that offer to boost their online reputation, and pay companies for supposedly expert reviews and rankings on comparison websites.