Are negative reviews defamatory?
Negative reviews can alert consumers of issues, and alert business owners on areas they need to improve. However, significant litigation has arisen over negative reviews that business owners claim to be defamatory.
Are Google reviews ripe for defamation claims?
Google reviews are, therefore, ripe for defamation claims with negative reviews often viewed by multiple people online, which can have a considerable effect on the reputation of the reviewee. WHO CAN MAKE A CLAIM FOR DEFAMATION?
Can Glassdoor be sued for defamatory reviews?
If the Plaintiff can make what is called a "prima facie showing" to the Court that your Review is defamatory, it is much more difficult for Glassdoor to prevent the Plaintiff from convincing the Court to force Glassdoor to turn over information about your identity.
What are special damages in a defamation case?
Special damages are awarded by way of compensation in certain cases, which must be proved, such as loss of business, earnings and profits as a result of the defamatory statement.
How do you Prove Damages from Defamation?
In order to prove damages, the Plaintiff must demonstrate that they were harmed by the Defamation. Often a business will be able to demonstrate damage to their reputation based on the false statements made from things like lost profits. Statements that the Plaintiff is personally corrupt, a cheater, conducts side-dealing, is sexually promiscuous or has a sexual disease are basically presumed to be defamatory, so in these cases, the Plaintiff has an even better chance of winning at trial.
How Long has Defamation been around?
Defamation has been around as a legal theory since the Roman times. The law of Defamation has been an effective curb on untruthful comments and gossip for centuries.
What happens if a reviewer is unhappy?
An unhappy reviewer can do a lot of damage to the reputation of a company, particularly if the content of the review is exaggerated or entirely false. Certainly, if reviewers are often sued and lose, there’d be a deterrent against the posting of such reviews. On the other hand, people have been giving “reviews” or advice to their friends ...
Is a statement that the plaintiff is personally corrupt, a cheater, conducts side-dealing,?
Statements that the Plaintiff is personally corrupt, a cheater, conducts side-dealing, is sexually promiscuous or has a sexual disease are basically presumed to be defamatory, so in these cases , the Plaintiff has an even better chance of winning at trial.
Does it Matter Whether the Statement is True?
Yes, very much so! Truth is an effective defense to Defamation. If the Defendant can show that what they said was true (even if it is embarrassing to the Plaintiff); it is not Defamation.
What happens if you say something in a Glassdoor review?
If you say something in a Review and the Plaintiff swears in Court that what you said is untrue (or disproves your statement with other evidence), then the Plaintiff has made a prima facie showing that your statement is defamatory.
What to do if an employer challenges your review?
If an employer challenges your Review, the most likely route they will take is to sue "Jane or John Doe" (since you publish anonymously on Glassdoor) and then serve a subpoena (make a legal demand) on Glassdoor to produce records about your identity. Glassdoor will fight, at our cost, to prevent the challenger (called a "Plaintiff" in a lawsuit) ...
What is the most relevant element to Glassdoor's fight to prevent a Plaintiff from forcing us to unmask?
The most relevant element to Glassdoor's fight to prevent a Plaintiff from forcing us to unmask your identity is the "false statement of fact" element. If the Plaintiff makes a prima facie showing that you included a false statement of fact about them in your Review, ...
Can you make provable statements of fact in Glassdoor?
But we don't want to go there if we don't have to. We strongly suggest you not make provable statements of fact in your Glassdoor reviews. We encourage you instead to offer your "opinions" about your workplace.
Can a plaintiff turn over information to Glassdoor?
If the Plaintiff makes a prima facie showing that you included a false statement of fact about them in your Review, the Court may well force Glassdoor to turn over information that Glassdoor has that may expose your identity.
Can you file a defamation lawsuit against Glassdoor?
If Glassdoor is forced to turn over the information it has about your identity, you can still fight the defamation lawsuit with your own lawyer, but the Plaintiff would know who you are and that may be a hardship to you.
Is Glassdoor a part of the Electronic Frontier Foundation?
Glassdoor is indebted to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and its ongoing fight to protect everyone's First Amendment rights online. Much of the following article is excerpted from the Foundation's blog on the same subject. Note: This article discusses US law. If you live outside the US, please consider the laws of your own country ...
Why are negative reviews important?
Negative reviews can alert consumers of issues, and alert business owners on areas they need to improve. However, significant litigation has arisen over negative reviews that business owners claim to be defamatory. Reviewers argue that their statements are protected by their right to free speech. Where is the line? At what point can a negative review subject the author to liability for defamation?
What is libel in the media?
Libel is a form of defamation and covers false statements communicated in writing or in print that injure another person's reputation or business. Since there are no special rules that apply to the Internet or social media, traditional defamation analysis applies to online content as it would to any other written publication.
What is the case of Yelp v Hadeed?
The courts are also dealing with the issue of anonymous users. In the case of Yelp, Inc. v. Hadeed Carpet Cleaning , Hadeed served a subpoena on Yelp seeking the identity of seven anonymous Yelp reviewers who had written negative reviews of the carpet cleaning service. Hadeed alleged that it couldn't match the reviews with its customer database, and therefore believed that the reviewers were not, in fact, actual customers. Hadeed further alleged that the reviews were defamatory because they falsely stated that Hadeed provided poor service to each reviewer.
Is there a defamation rule for online reviews?
The number of defamation cases arising from online reviews continues to increase, as the value of online reviews is critical to any business. While there are no special rules that apply to the Internet or social media when it comes to defamation, how the courts apply traditional defamation rules to online behavior and anonymous users will be important to monitor.
Is defamation a form of libel?
While defamation is governed by state law, it generally consists of a false and unprivileged publication which tends to injure a party in its occupation. Libel is a form of defamation and covers false statements communicated in writing or in print that injure another person's reputation or business. Since there are no special rules that apply to the Internet or social media, traditional defamation analysis applies to online content as it would to any other written publication.
What is a defamation claim?
A defamation claim requires that the plaintiff show how the negative statement caused some type of injury to him, usually economic in nature. In the case of businesses, records may show that the business was realizing a steady increase in business until the review was posted or potential customers may testify that they refused to do business ...
What is the burden of proof for a defamation claim?
The plaintiff has the burden of proof of establishing the elements of a defamation claim by a preponderance of the evidence in most cases.
What to do if you are sued for defamation?
Individuals who are sued for the tort of defamation should seek immediate legal counsel. Once a complaint or petition is filed, the defendant only has a limited amount of time to respond to it to avoid facing a default judgment. Provided by HG.org.
Why do people check reviews before buying?
Due to the ready availability of them , many consumers check reviews before making a purchase. While this may help influence some consumers to make purchases, it can deter people who read a negative review. Some studies show a significant drop in revenue when negative reviews are readily available and the product rating drops a significant amount.
Can privileged speech be used as a basis for defamation?
Different states provide certain privileged speech that cannot be the basis of a defamation claim. This may include communication made during senate hearings, testimony provided in court or other types of communication.
Can you post a review of someone without committing the tort of defamation?
A person can post a review of someone even if it is negative in nature without committing the tort of defamation. Truth is an absolute defense to this type of legal cause of action. Additionally, a person can provide an opinion about an experience that he or she had so long as it not based on a fact that is untrue.
Can a client leave a negative feedback?
In today’s technological world, it is much easier for a client or customer to leave negative feedback about a business after having a bad experience with them. While a lawsuit may be filed by the business to retaliate, the legal grounds for such a claim may not be met depending on the circumstances of the case.
How Long Has Defamation Been around?
So What Constitutes Defamation?
How Do You Prove Damages from Defamation?
Does It Matter Whether The Statement Is True?
Is It An Opinion Or An Actual Defamatory Statement?
Can Companies Sue Yelp Reviewers?
The Public Policy Argument
- An argument can certainly be made regarding whether it is good public policy to allow people to post negative reviews online. An unhappy reviewer can do a lot of damage to the reputation of a company, particularly if the content of the review is exaggerated or entirely false. Certainly, if reviewers are often sued and lose, there’d be a deterrent a...