What would you do if you have bought a specific product and it does [or doesn’t] satisfy as you expected? Some would do nothing and keep that item their regular product. However, a small percentage of the buyers will want to give their review.
When you have purchased an item online, and you are thinking about giving a review, your only aim is to educate other buyers, right? Besides, it isn’t a crime to give your thoughts about a specific product, is it? Well, unfortunately, it might be somehow wrong to do that, and that could end you in trouble by the respective owner/brand/company of that product.
According to the some laws, you can get a lawsuit for writing an online product review.
Defamation and Product Review
In most countries law, defamation is associated with the allegation that is intended to hurt or lower another party. In this case, a negative online review can be considered as an allegation that is meant to ‘hurt’ the owners of the product.
Now, you might claim that you are directing your opinion specifically to the product, but that item was developed by a person. In this case, the company will represent the ‘person’ that has been hurt by the negative reviews.
Still related to law, libel is a form of defamation that covers the false accusations that are delivered in print or writing, and the statement is usually that which injures another business/person’s reputation.
Apparently, online reviews have no exceptions in the defamation laws. It doesn’t matter if you wrote your words through an online review or you spoke it verbally.
After all, written content is just words that are delivered in text. So, there are no special rules.
What about the Anonymous Reviews?
Yeah, what about them? If you thought they go unnoticed, you’re dead wrong. The fact is that some websites will not allow you to hide your identity, while others do. Some websites will allow users to make comments about their employers, but their identity will be hidden.
In this case, the owners of the platform will defend the reviewers in case of any court involvement. Even if the reviewed employer asks for the name of the reviewer, the website publishers will not disclose it. Such websites have enough money to defend their site if they are sued.
On the other hand, public forums or other open websites will allow people to posts their reviews freely. Here, the reviewer is not protected in any way. So, the court will decide who is responsible for such comments.
Furthermore, many courts will order the internet service providers to provide the IP address of the reviewer. For that, if you used an alias or nickname, you will still be tracked down and sued.
Now, does that mean you shouldn’t give any online review at all? Of course not. When giving an online review, here are some exceptions you should keep in mind.
The Exceptions:
- Have the facts
It is never an easy thing to give a product review. First off, you need to know and understand the product or service that you are about to review. It isn’t just about getting online and writing whatever you think about such a product or service.
Before you even start writing about the review, you need to have all the facts and necessary back up. You cannot just give a specific Antivirus a 3.5 out of 10 without stating why and how you gave it such a rating. If you are not pleased by the delivery of a specific product or service, ensure that you have the facts and that you back up your review. If possible, include screenshots or any other details that will have proof enough.
- Don’t talk about the company or person who provided the product/service
If you go online and start ranting about the people that gave you the product or the company that made it, you will be going beyond the line. When you start talking about the character of the person that provided the product, you will only be calling problem for yourself.
Besides, it is the product or service that did not please you. So, you shouldn’t start getting personal with the providers of the service.
Always maintain professionalism when writing the online review for a service or product.
- Be honest
Honesty is a very important virtue that should be applied in every area of one’s life, including the online product review. You should never have any intention of vengeance or malice. Yes, the product/service didn’t satisfy you as you expected, but that doesn’t mean you should express all your anger in the online review.
If you are frustrated about the delivery of the product or service, always take some time to cool off before you start writing the review. You can always write it even a day or two later; there is never a hurry; unless the return-back time is approaching. Regardless of that, never write a product review when you are angry, chances are you will always find yourself in trouble.
It is well-known that posting the wrong messages on the internet can end you in serious trouble. You need to be careful with those product reviews that you post online.
Now that reviewers need to be careful and well-informed before they post content online, you need to find a trusted review site. thetop10sites.com is one of those trusted review sites. The website is well designed for easy accessibility for anyone. The best part is that you can browse just about review website. If you want a site that offers online services, The Top 10 Sites should be your ideal platform.
They have honest reviews – so they can be trusted.
If you are planning to give a review of a product or service, you will need to be careful enough. Above all, ensure that you give an honest review with enough details.
We are happy to help you make the right legal choice by using the right and honest words with online reviews. Remember to have enough information before you start writing the review.
Thanks for taking the time to read the article. You are welcome to visit our blog and read more legal-related articles.
