Have you ever read a testimonial in an advertisement or the reviews on a product page and wondered if they were coming real customers? After a recent rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), you can be more confident that those testimonials and reviews are, in fact, real.
On August 14, 2024, the FTC issued a rule that prohibits the sale or purchase of fake reviews and testimonials. In short, the FTC created the rule to help combat false, misleading, and deceptive advertising. The rule prohibits multiple practices including, but not limited to, the following:
- Selling or purchasing fake consumer reviews, consumer testimonials, and celebrity testimonials;
- Buying positive or negative consumer reviews;
- Creation of consumer reviews or testimonials by certain insiders without clearly disclosing the relationship with the individual providing the review or testimonial;
- Creating a company-controlled review website that falsely purports to provide independent reviews;
- Certain review suppression practices; and
To read more about the FTC’s new rule, you can find the FTC’s press release here.