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March 22, 2022 By: Asa Waldstein

Online company fined $4.2M for blocking negative product reviews

Takeaway -

Product reviews must be honest and truthful

Online company fined $4.2 million for blocking negative product reviews.

The FTC alleges the company blocked product reviews with less than four stars. This is considered deceptive marketing and clearly warns companies that product reviews should be accurate.

Here is what we can learn.

Best practices for soliciting and posting reviews.

From FTC letter: Examples may include asking for reviews only from those likely to leave positive ones, preventing or discouraging submission of negative reviews, subjecting negative reviews to greater scrutiny, refusing to publish negative reviews, or otherwise not treating positive and negative reviews equally.

Here are some FTC rules for possible exceptions to the “post all” rule.

From FTC press release: (the company) must post on its website all customer reviews of products currently being sold—with the exception of reviews that contain obscene, sexually explicit, racist, or unlawful content and reviews that are unrelated to the product or customer services like shipping or returns.

Here is a video about product reviews

Read the FTC press release.

This is a different Warning Letter Wednesday because it is an FTC action (not FDA), and it involves a fine (not a warning letter) and doesn’t include a supplement company. This is a good reminder that we can learn from other agency actions such as this one.

Join my Warning Letter Wednesday group here.

Disclaimer: The educational information provided here is for informational purposes only. Contact an attorney for specific legal advice. Rule #1 in compliance is to ensure marketing is truthful and not misleading.

Written by

Asa Waldstein
Asa Waldstein
Asa Waldstein is a 24-year veteran of the dietary supplement industry, with experience spanning manufacturing, marketing, and regulatory compliance. He is the principal of Apex Compliance, a software company dedicated to streamlining regulatory marketing compliance for the dietary supplement and natural products sectors. Asa also leads Supplement Advisory Group, a boutique consultancy focused on marketing risk analysis, labeling, and practical compliance strategies for websites and social media. Asa has helped oversee three FDA GMP inspections with no 483s and was honored with the 2023 AHPA Herbal Hero Award and the 2024 What's Up Supps Policy and Change Agent Award. He currently serves as Chair of the American Herbal Products Association’s (AHPA) Cannabis Committee, helping shape policy and industry best practices
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