# The FTC Rule on Fake Reviews and Testimonials, Explained > A plain summary of the FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: fake reviews, paid reviews, staff reviews, and hiding negative reviews. Canonical: https://vassalmarketing.com/information/reviews-reputation/ftc-review-rule-explained/ **Maintained by Vassal Marketing** · Last updated on September 26, 2026 Reviewed at least quarterly and whenever a platform or rule it cites changes. General information, not legal or professional advice. Check rules that affect your business with a qualified professional. Since October 21, 2024, a federal rule bans fake reviews, rewards that depend on a review being positive or negative, undisclosed staff reviews, and threats or tricks to hide negative reviews. Businesses that knowingly break it can face civil penalties. ## Why this matters The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, found at 16 CFR Part 465. It took effect on October 21, 2024, and courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. The rule targets clear deception: fake reviews, paying for positive reviews, hiding insider reviews, and hiding or scaring off negative reviews. It does not ban asking customers for reviews. Asking only happy customers, called review gating, is not a specific provision of the rule, but the FTC says it could still violate the FTC Act, and Google and Tripadvisor ban it. This page summarizes the rule; confirm with a qualified attorney for your situation. ## Responsible practices ### Fake reviews and testimonials (§465.2) Businesses may not write, buy, or post reviews or testimonials from people who don't exist, didn't use the product or service, or misstate their experience, when the business knew or should have known. The FTC's announcement says this includes AI-generated fake reviews. ### Buying positive or negative reviews (§465.4) Businesses may not offer money or other rewards for reviews that express a particular sentiment, positive or negative. The condition can be stated outright or implied. ### Insider reviews (§465.5) Owners, officers, and managers may not post reviews of their own business without clearly disclosing the connection. They also may not ask employees or relatives to post reviews while discouraging disclosure or failing to tell them to disclose it. A general request sent to all customers is excluded. ### Company-controlled review sites (§465.6) A business may not present a website or organization it controls as an independent source of reviews for its own type of product or service. ### Review suppression (§465.7) A business may not use unfounded legal threats, physical threats, intimidation, or false public accusations to stop a review or get one removed. It also may not suggest that the reviews shown on its own website are all or most of its reviews when negative ones have been held back because of their rating or tone. ### Fake social media influence (§465.8) Businesses may not buy or sell fake followers, views, or other fake social media indicators used to misrepresent how popular or influential someone is for a commercial purpose. ## Worked example: Hypothetical situations: does this raise a problem under the rule? These made-up examples show how the rule's main points apply to everyday situations. They are not legal advice. ### A salon offers 10% off to anyone who leaves a five-star review Problem. The reward depends on a positive review (§465.4). Google also bans rewards for reviews at all. ### A contractor has an AI tool write reviews and posts them under made-up names Problem. These are fake reviews from people who don't exist (§465.2). ### A restaurant owner's brother posts a five-star review without mentioning the connection Problem if the owner asked him and didn't tell him to disclose the relationship (§465.5). ### A plumber threatens to sue a customer over an honest one-star review Problem if the threat is unfounded; that's review suppression (§465.7). ### A dentist's website shows only five-star reviews under the heading "What all our patients say" Problem if lower-rated reviews were left out because of their rating (§465.7). A heading like "Selected patient reviews" avoids suggesting they're all of them. ### A landscaper texts every customer after each job asking for an honest review No problem under the rule. Generalized requests to all customers are allowed. Check each site's own rules and texting consent rules. Ask everyone, reward no one for a particular rating, disclose insider connections, and never threaten or hide honest reviews. ## FTC rule checklist ### What you can do yourself 1. Stop any reward that depends on a positive review. 2. Tell staff and family not to review the business without disclosing the connection. 3. Label any testimonials page as selected, not all, reviews. 4. Never threaten a reviewer with legal action without an attorney's advice. 5. Remove any review your business wrote or paid for. ### What to ask your provider or staff to handle 1. Confirm in writing that they never write, buy, or generate reviews for your business. 2. Show you any website review widget's filter settings, so negative reviews aren't hidden without your knowledge. 3. Confirm they don't buy followers, likes, or views for your accounts. ## Avoid these mistakes - Offering a discount or gift only to customers who leave positive reviews - Posting reviews written by staff, relatives, or AI under customer names - Setting a website review widget to show only four- and five-star reviews while calling them all your reviews - Sending a cease-and-desist letter to scare off an honest reviewer - Buying followers or likes to look more popular Customers decide what they write and review sites decide what stays up, so ratings, review counts, and removals are not guaranteed. ## Questions business owners ask ### When did the rule take effect, and what are the penalties? It took effect October 21, 2024. Courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. The FTC adjusts penalty amounts for inflation, so check the FTC's current figures if you need them. ### Does the rule ban asking customers for reviews? No. Generalized requests to all customers are fine under the rule. Review sites may have their own limits; Yelp, for example, says businesses should never ask for reviews. ### Is review gating banned by the rule? The FTC's Q&A says the rule has no specific provision against asking only happy customers, but the practice could violate the FTC Act. Google and Tripadvisor also prohibit it. Ask every customer the same way. ### Can I remove negative reviews from my own website? The rule allows holding back reviews that contain, for example, private information, harassment, discriminatory content, or clearly false content, or that are unrelated to what you sell. What it prohibits is hiding reviews because they're negative while suggesting the rest are all or most of your reviews. ## Primary guidance - [FTC: Final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials) - [FTC: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule Q&A](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers) - [eCFR: 16 CFR Part 465](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-465) - [16 CFR 465.7: Review suppression](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/465.7) - [FTC: Soliciting and Paying for Online Reviews](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/soliciting-paying-online-reviews-guide-marketers) ## Connected guidance - [Asking for reviews](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/reviews-reputation/responsible-review-requests.md): Sample wording that asks every customer the same way. - [Testimonials and case studies](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/reviews-reputation/customer-proof-and-case-studies.md): How to run a testimonials page without hiding negative reviews. - [Review site rules compared](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/reviews-reputation/review-platform-policy-operations.md): Each site's own rules, which apply alongside the federal rule.