The Internet seems like such a safe place. Well, it did. Before the NSA and Snowden, the Internet felt anonymous and free from any possible trouble. But we are learning more and more each day about how the Internet is not safe – far from it. It's not safe to search openly, and it's not safe to make false claims.
Recent news of the review company Yelp handing out lawsuits to small businesses has gained some traction. Yelp, it seems, is cracking down on fake reviews. The company issued a lawsuit to a small San Diego law firm recently, and more suits may be coming down the pipeline. Why?
Yelp Violating Internet Laws Counts
Yelp has a strict policy stopping people from setting up fake reviews. Now, you and I both know that more than half of the reviews on Yelp are fake. How do we know that? Just look at them. It's easy to tell when a review is fake – especially if there are ten other reviews just like the first one. But, this is still something that Yelp frowns upon.
So far, Yelp has filed two suits against businesses that the company claims paid for fake reviews. Yelp reps have told press that the company stands against misleading review readers. Whether or not the companies accused actually created fake reviews has yet to be tried by a court of law. However, the fact that Yelp is trying to crack down on fake reviews should tell you something very important.
An Internet Lesson
Whether you run a cheap hosting site or any other website, it's important to make sure that your rules are clearly stated. On the consumer side of things, it's vital that you read and follow all legal speak listed on any given website. Should you violate one of these rules, you could be looking at a lawsuit.
Yelp isn't the only review site on the Internet, and it's far from being the only site with bad or fake reviews. There are some ways to make sure that the reviews you are reading are authentic, though.
How to Tell
- Check writer profiles. Do these people really exist?
- Don't believe the same review written ten times.
- No company gets a ton of good or bad reviews.
- Look for secure review procedures
for example : AirBnB does not allow people to review a rental unless that person has processed a credit card payment through the site. This stops people from posting fake reviews.
If you aren't sure about a review, or how to post a review, let me know what the issue is. I can help you sift through all of those terms listed on a site, and see whether or not you are about to violate a term. As for the fake Yelp reviews go, well, it seems like Yelp is, indeed, trying to put a stop to it all.
