A federal rule banning fake online reviews is now in effect

A federal rule banning fake online reviews is now in effect.

The Federal Trade Commission issued the rulein August banning the sale or purchase of online reviews. The rule, which went into effect Monday, allows the agency to seek civil penalties against those who knowingly violate it.

“Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said about the rule in August. She added that the rule will “protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive.”

  • KoboldCoterie@pawb.socialEnglish
    111·
    1 month ago

    allows the agency to seek civil penalties against those who knowingly violate it.

    I hate that wording. Ignorance of the law isn’t a defense, unless you’re a corporation, apparently.

    It also looks like this doesn’t address the practice of offering incentive for actual purchasers to leave positive reviews.

    • FPSkra@lemmy.world
      68·
      1 month ago

      That’s not what knowingly means in this context. Knowingly refers to the level of intent required to pursue charges, not whether they knew there was a law against it.

      In this case it requires the government to show that the person intended to leave a review and/or testimonials that misrepresent that they are by someone who does not exist.

    • FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      19·
      1 month ago

      Anyways my brother works for the FTC. With the current funding, they take thousands of complaints before they even look into something. It’s effectively useless as only the most publicised cases get any enforcement and the fines are tiny. And he says it was twice as bad before Biden.

    • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
      16·
      1 month ago

      The wording is a bit ambiguous but I’d read that as “intentionally” rather than “with knowledge they’re violating the law”… it definitely could have used a good copy editor though.

      • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        1 month ago

        It’s more than a defense, it’s actually a benefit for police. Attempting to enforce rules that don’t exist still count as valid pretext if they find evidence of actual crimes.

    • mindaika@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      3·
      1 month ago

      It’s also pretty much impossible to prove, which of course is the point. The government exists to protect corporations