Review Suppression

Review suppression happens when a business tries to make its public feedback look more positive by coercing reviewers or manipulating which genuine reviews appear. Examples include baseless legal threats designed to force the removal of critical feedback or misrepresenting a review section as representative of all submissions while systematically excluding low-rated reviews.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule addresses specific forms of review suppression. It does not prohibit every decision to moderate a review. Businesses may apply neutral rules against irrelevant content, threats, spam, or demonstrably false submissions, provided they are not using those rules as a pretext to suppress negative sentiment. The legal analysis depends on the specific conduct.

Responding respectfully to criticism, investigating complaints, and correcting factual errors are not the same as suppressing reviews. A trustworthy review policy should explain moderation criteria, preserve legitimate criticism, and avoid making unsupported public accusations about reviewers.