A new law prohibits blocking negative reviews. On March 14, 2017, the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 went into effect. The Act prohibits a company from using a ‘form contract’ to prohibit or restrict a person from posting a review, performance assessment, or other similar analysis of a company’s goods, services, or conduct. The Act also prohibits a company from requiring an individual to transfer intellectual property rights in the review or feedback to the company. Any form contract containing the prohibited language is void and can subject the company to a penalty or fee imposed by the Federal Trade Commission. The Act also creates a private right of action that can be brought by a State’s attorney general on behalf of the residents of the State.

WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS. The Act was obviously designed to stop a growing trend by companies to squelch negative feedback by contract. This would be a good time to revisit your terms of use for your website and any form contracts, policies or other standardized terms referring to user-posted reviews or similar content. Any clause prohibited by the act should be removed or amended so it doesn’t violate the act.

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