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.”
Awesome, now make them criminally liable.
Corporations are people, no? Throw them in prison.
IMO, corporate punishments should work like that: steal a little from someone? Lose 90 days of profit. Steal a lot? Lose a couple years of profits. Kill someone? Lose 20 years of profits
They tried that when McDonald’s served coffee that gave an old woman 3rd degree burns on her genitals.
A single days profits from coffee.
McDonald’s fought that in court, and spent many thousands of dollars on a PR campaign to vilify the woman they burned.
“I will believe that corporations are people, once Texas executes one.”
It’s executed plenty.
12 were executed in 2022
Zoom in: Texas had 23 clinics in operation before the decision — 12 shut down and 11 are open but only offer services other than abortion.
Common Lina Khan W
Give me 10 Lina Khans and I’ll give you the world.
I wish she was the one running for president. Maybe in eight years if we’re lucky and have Harris. And/or legal elections in four.
Lina Khan is the most useful bureaucrat in at least a generation.
They can do it for reviews, why not news?
The constitution is pretty clear about the power of government to regulate commerce, and is also pretty clear that the government can’t regulate most speech.
Are fake review not speech?
The “everything is speech” argument has been hashed out for centuries, and is a variation of reducto ad absurdum. It’s the same bullshit argument that has allowed unlimited bribery in politics because money is speech.
In this case, reviews are a form of marketing in aid of a sale, which is commerce. In that sector, there is no “free speech” because the constitution allows regulating most commerce. It’s the same as how you can’t sell a sugar pill that claims to enlarge your genitalia and clean your bedroom.
fraud is illegal.
Yes, but so is yelling “FIRE” in a movie theater or convincing a crowd to commit a crime. Yet it is illegal to do either of these.
You don’t want true freedom, no one does. That is called anarchy
Not the same agency.
Does TV make money?
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. I love the work Lina Khan is doing. Its going to be so sad when Kamala gives her the boot :(
The Federal Trade Commission today announced a final rule that will combat fake reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their sale or purchase and allow the agency to seek civil penalties against knowing violators.
Oh good, glad they didn’t ban obvious joke ones people post for free, like the top reviews for the 50 gallon barrel of lube.
Some guy in India is gonna get fined $7,498,342.37 in three years and I’m all for it.
Oh dude they literally had an activity at my old cult where they had everyone make a dozen fake reviews at each of their local buildings. That’s gonna be fun.
And then he won’t pay it because he’s in India and doesn’t pay a lot of attention to the US FTC.
There is a very long history of expeditions and fines against foreign nationals involving spam, scams, etc. Here is a recent example., and another example, and a much older and bigger example
But you never hear about any of the good stuff the US Government does for its people, nobody ever talks about that stuff.
I am surprised we don’t have a PR/propoganda department either breaking even or making money on Netflix documentaries. It’s like endless content.
It could actually be a cool way for some career civil servants to ger a little payout towards the end of their career.
Lina Khan 2028
Better than nothing but it also seems like it might be kind of difficult to prove the company allowed it knowingly.
It prevented reviews and testimonials that misrepresent that they are by someone who does not exist. Fairly easy to prove. If they catch an individual posting a review while posing as anyone but themselves, It’s a done deal.
In this context “knowingly” means “intentionally”, not that they knew there was a law against it.
An entity is in violation if they knowingly commit the act, not that they knowingly broke the law.
Yes, I understand (ignorance of a law is no defense at least in the US) that but it still may prove difficult to actually prove.
What is going to happen? Will the FTC police gonna come and cart them away? No, it will continue and nothing will happen. FTC enforcement is just a few law suits away from being just like the SEC’s enforcement. The SEC can’t enforce anything these days without a long drawn out court battle.
I just got a can of diet Coke in exchange for a 5-star review of a local eatery. I legit like the eatery, but would not have left a review without the bribe.
Is that a legit review or a fake one?
You received an item for the review. That’s a bribe. Fake.
that is fake
deleted by creator
I’m sure this will work.
It’s a start, we could still have nothing. FTC is doing the Lord’s work right now.
Agreed.
Insofar as the Lord doesn’t actually do anything, but millions continue to fawn over him because he said maybe someday eventually he might
Hmm, the same Lord that created all the fake reviews in the first place?
The Lord can suck it
If they didn’t want me to be so gay for Jesus they shouldn’t have made him so hot
You’re right, we should just leave it as being legal 🙄 that’s so much better
Why do people do what you just did?
He says this won’t work.
And somehow you jump to “then we should just leave it as being legal”
He didn’t say we shouldn’t try something just that this might not be the best implementation.
It’s bound to happen when sarcasm is met with sarcasm.
He didn’t say we shouldn’t try something just that this might not be the best implementation.
He didn’t really say anything, you’re just hypothesizing a substantive argument from a low effort pessimistic gripe.
No. The other guy is basically claiming something that has no basis in fact. And I’m trying to figure out why people do that.
