Various websites, mobile device apps and social media platforms provide opportunities for consumers and professionals to communicate. In some cases, people may abuse those systems to spread inappropriate and inaccurate information about businesses.
Digital defamation has been an issue for as long as people have shared information about companies on the internet. There are platforms that allow people to review service providers, such as restaurants and hotels. There are also various platforms where professionals share information about experiences while working for companies. What consumers and workers share online can either attract others to a business or leave them with a negative opinion of an organization.
Can negative online reviews constitute a form of actionable business defamation?
Digital reviews can be defamatory
Online reviews allow people to share information that can guide employment and purchasing decisions. Sharing certain details online usually is not defamation as long as everything detailed in a review is accurate and verifiable.
Making unsubstantiated claims about a company’s practices or exaggerating a situation can constitute defamation, especially if the review writer has an intention to harm the business. Organizations that monitor their reputations online can promptly take action to respond to or remove inappropriate content.
In scenarios where former workers leave reviews on employment websites, the details that they include in those reviews could violate confidentiality agreements or constitute defamation. Sometimes, reviews by former employees disclose private information and simultaneously include disparaging and inaccurate or exaggerated information about an employer.
Particularly in scenarios where the information included is outright fabricated and malicious in nature, an organization dealing with the aftermath of negative reviews may have grounds to assert that the review writer inappropriately defamed the company. The company can ask the platform to remove the offending content or can even take direct legal action in some cases.
Reviewing the contents of videos and written reviews about a business can help concerned owners and executives determine whether or not they are in a position to take legal action. Initiating litigation in response to online defamation can result in the removal of negative content, injunctions preventing future defamatory statements and sometimes even compensation in the form of damages.
Recognizing when commercial litigation may be necessary to protect an organization’s brand can limit the harm caused by disgruntled former employees, competitors or dissatisfied consumers. Online defamation can damage a company’s reputation unless leadership is proactive about addressing reviews and negative social media content.
