Last week, California’s lawmakers introduced a bill that would make it illegal for companies to penalise customers who post negative reviews online.
And the recently passed law forbidding anti-disparagement clauses in a business’ terms of sale, could soon get a national review, as the US congress looks to take up a similar measure, according to Jeremy Quittner, a staff writer for Inc. magazine.
The Consumer Review Freedom Act, is a response to businesses that seek to prevent people from leaving negative feedback on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor, which allow anyone to publicly proclaim their opinions about a company’s products and services. Some businesses have sought to do some damage control by inserting anti-disparagement clauses deep within the legalese of their customer agreements, laying out penalties for public airing of grievances.
Not fans of fine print, most consumers are unaware that they have essentially waived their rights to free speech related to the company, and that’s led to a number of significant lawsuits over the past few years. More than a few companies have attempted to collect damages from vocal customers.
California’s law imposes a fine of up to $10,000 on businesses that seek to squash bad consumer reviews by inserting such clauses into contacts and requiring customers to sign them.