Can you go to jail for writing a bad review on yelp?
No. You can't go to jail. If what you posted was factually incorrect, then you could be sued. But if everything you said was factually correct or your opinion, then she would not be able to successfully sue you. Defamation is not as simple as suing anyone who says something negative. The allegations have to be factually incorrect, i.e. "The owner doesn't pay taxes", when she does in fact pay taxes. A statement of opinion, i.e. "The owner is not very nice", is an opinion, and you have the legal right to post that anywhere you want, and she cannot sue you over your opinion. But either way, you can't go to jail over a lawsuit.
Writing yelp review illegal?
is it illegal to write a Yelp review for a place you work at?? I wrote a rather negative review under a fake name... Is this illegal? I didn't say any swear words or make any threats..
Can a company sue me legally for a bad review on Google?
A2AYou kind of screwed the pooch by removing the review…You received a threatening letter (likely from a “reputation cleaner”; it may have even said “we have been hired to represent…”, rather than specifically claimed an attorney/client relationship)You removed the review (tacit admission on your part that the review was false/malicious, or at least that’s how they’d represent it in court)Now you are quaking in your boots, having given them evidence to use against you, if they actually had a cause of actionIf they want to go ahead with a lawsuit, they now have a pretty strong case: prima facia evidence that the review was malicious/false.However, this was most likely one of those “reputation cleaner” companies. Their general business model is to intimidate people into taking down derogatory information about companies.From a legal standpoint, “derogatory” is a technical term: it doesn’t necessarily mean that the information was untrue, or that your review wasn’t justified, it just means that it was information that, should others find it, might interfere with their business practice.So, for example, if it was a gumball company, and they sold you 1,000 gumballs at $0.01 apiece, but then sent you only 135 gumballs — i.e.: you sent them $10.00, and you received $1.35 worth of product, when they represented a different amount — and then you wrote a bad review, complaining that they charged you $0.074 per gumball instead of the advertised $0.01.That review would be perfectly valid, perfect defensible in court, and they (legally) couldn’t do anything about it.Except threaten to sue you, because if they actually sued you, then they’d end up eating court costs, and maybe get hit with malicious prosecution/abuse of process by the court.Next time, consult with an attorney before making any response to such a letter in the future. They may well have told you take it down; or they could tell you to leave it up; or they might even suggest (if they were in a fighting mood, and had also purchased gumballs) that you scan the letter, and add it to your review.Right now, you just need to sit back, and see if there’s further communication.
Could I be sued for writing a negative review on GlassDoor? My former company was awful, and they still owe me money. I want to ensure that others do not waste their time.
I cannot reassure you. You can be sued for anything. Even if you write a completely honest review, one that contains either only opinions or entirely verifiable facts, this does not mean that you won't be sued. But whether you are honest or not, if you get sued and you have to defend yourself, that can be expensive. Someone from Glassdoor posted that they will not share their user's information. That is nice in theory, but if Glassdoor receives a subpoena from a court ordering it to reveal whatever information it has about the person who posted the review, I, personally, would be very surprised if Glassdoor would be able to successfully fight such a subpoena. It has become relatively common for courts to order companies to reveal information they have about users in defamation cases. Obviously, I cannot speak to what Glassdoor would actually do if it was ordered to reveal user information.Here is a case where Yelp had to ID negative reviewers, for example. Court rules Yelp must ID negative reviewers; no constitutional protection
Being Sued for a yelp review?
I recently posted a 100% factual review of a business on Yelp. The review had no foul language, and was written in a professional manner. I included no names in my review. The business is now threatening to sue me for defamation if I do not delete my review just because it is negative. Is this even legal? What should be my next course of action?
How do I leave an anonymous Yelp review?
Logan’s answer is correct but there is a little more to it than just a pseudonym. Most people who write reviews want folks to read them. In other words they want them to have IMPACT!Yelp’s was founded on the idea of Real Reviews by Real People. That’s why you see real photos and profiles and real names.Sooooo it’s only natural that if you use a pseudonym you would not post a real picture or complete a real profile as it would defeat your goal of anonymity. Also you should be aware that a large percentage of folks that post anonymously post mostly one star rants and five star raves.So one of two things are likely to happen to your review-1. Yelp’s automated filter will decide to relegate it to the “Not Recommended” section and bury it at the bottom of the page. The result is that it will have virtually zero IMPACT!2. Savvy Yelpers, and there are millions of us, will recognize your post as anonymous and lacking a real picture etc. and completely ignore it! Once again your reviews IMPACT will be tiny at best.Now that you know this do you think it’s worth all the work to create an anonymous account and post? I think not! Maybe you should look for another more appropriate platform.�J��
Is writing a Yelp review that is truthful (have evidence of deciet) slanderous?
I write many Yelp reviews, and Leonid points out that it would be libel… and documented evidence…I do know what kind of documented evidence one could have that the food was not enjoyable or the server was rude, or whatever the negatives are…It is all based on person opinion or interpretation of an experience.It is more likely that the offended party will go on the attack against the reviewer rather than involving courts. I have on more than one occasion had people contact my employer regarding my reviews and whine that they should fire me beacuse wah wah wah. I have also had them contach other organisations which I belong, like Chamber of Commerce as if they have any strength to do anything, even if we are both members of the same Chamber… However, once the Chamber president helped negotiate a resolution that was amicable to both parties… However, the Chamber was also involved in the dispute, it did not work out to my benefit, but it was resolved… and the negative review was removed.For anyone curious, a Chamber event had a raffle, grand prize was a Hawaiian Vacation… go to book the vacation that I won, and it was not really a vacation, but a hotel stay if one purchased airfare and other items from them, oh and it was non-transferrable… in the end, I was able to transfer it to a friend that was planning to go to Hawaii… and also he did not have to buy anything else, just got the hotel free and arranged his own airfare.
Threatened by a business owner for a yelp review, is this legal?
You are entirely permitted to post a negative review of a place where you have had experience. If you found the staff to be rude, you are legally allowed to share that information with anyone at all, including on the internet. The business owner is trying to contact you and is trying in multiple ways, including your parents. This is harassment only when you tell him to stop. If I were you, I would create a "cease and desist" letter (do a search online for a sample template), sign it, and mail it to him certified mail, return receipt requested. When he gets it, he runs legal risks if he contacts you again, other than to serve you legal papers. The second negative review is also legally protected as well, even if it really did come from you as a second posting. He cannot sue you for libel, since you had an experience, were not lying, and were legally sharing the experience with others. You can share the voicemails if you so choose. Once the person leaves a voicemail, they become the property of the recipient to do with as he or she pleases.
Is there any evidence that Yelp removes a business' positive reviews days after that business decline a Yelp advertising offer?
I'm an IT consultant with hundreds of clients over 15 years. One client is doctor's office. Right after the doctor paid Yelp $300/mo or so for a business description, several of the doctor's bad Yelp reviews disappeared. Then when Yelp found out the doctor sued a Yelp reviewer for slander (and won a $250k judgement!), Yelp canceled the doctor's business subscription and immediately restored numerous bad reviews, including dishonest ones. Yelp sales people, sorry, are either clueless or liars regarding their company's unethical and, possibly, illegal, practice of gaming review rankings. Just Google "sue yelp" or "suing yelp" or "yelp extortion" to find businesses suing yelp for the pattern described by many small businesses, especially dentists and doctors, as extortion. At least one lawyer specializes in suing Yelp. Yelp employees are very careful not to put in writing promises of improved review averages or review position/order, but the before-and-after records speak for themselves.STING TEST: someone or the FBI could create a fake (or real) business and rate it on Yelp, populating it with a wide range of (fake) Yelp reviews (1 star to 5 star), tallying and carefully monitoring them. Next, the sting business could call Yelp sales and, recording the phone conversations, sign up for Yelp's business plan and watch the results: review average, review inclusions and exclusions, and review positions/order [negative reviews pushed back or brought forward). Next, the sting business could add varying reviews and monitor the results. After a few months at least, the sting business could call Yelp and cancel its Yelp subscription and note subsequent changes to the review average, inclusions, exclusions and positions/order). Finally, the sting operation could publicize the results. I'd like to see this. Come on FBI, please do this.USER PERSPECTIVE: after witnessing my client's varying Yelp results between paying and not paying Yelp, I personally stopped reading Yelp reviews. A mediocre Yelp average may result from a business not paying off Yelp and from Yelp including crazy dishonest reviews, while a high Yelp average may mask a mediocre business paying off Yelp. I deleted the Yelp app from my iPhone and absolutely don't trust any Yelp review average. Yelps over.