With fake reviews spreading like wildfire through the internet, most people are starting to question whether fake internet reviews are illegal or not. Fake reviews are often done by unscrupulous companies who wish to put their products in a positive light while degrading the products of their competitors with negative reviews. Such companies often hire writers or sometimes even force their own employees to write false reviews for the benefit of their own businesses. While this practice is obviously unethical, is it also illegal? 

Shills- Who Are They?

According to Dictionary.com, a shill is defined as “a person who praises or publicizes something out of self-interest and personal profit”. It is also defined as “a person who poses as a customer to entice others into participating”. One can therefore consider writing fake reviews as shilling which can be considered illegal under certain jurisdictions and situations. It depends on the effects of the shill’s actions, such as if it results in a risk of loss or merely creates excitement among customers. 

Shilling Online

In many review websites and online forums, a company may hire several individuals to praise their products in order to generate the interest of the public. Together with recommending their products, some companies may also hire others to write bad reviews about products of their competitors. As such, when can you consider fake internet reviews illegal? Basically, most companies forbid their employees as well as other associated parties such as agents and contractors from joining review websites, online forums, and public discussions where there may be a conflict of interest. Since posting a review on review websites as well as joining online forums are obviously a conflict of interest, this type of activity is often considered illegal. Take for example the case of Lifestyle Lift, a plastic surgery company who instructed their employees to post fake reviews on different websites putting the company in a positive light. Once they were caught, however, they were sued and made to pay $300,000 in damages for duping consumers which was not only illegal but contemptuous as well. 

Illegal Yet Undetectable

Shills are often hired by companies to give reviews to their products to make it seem like it is coming from a genuine satisfied customer. Posting of fake internet reviews is often illegal yet there are only a few companies who have been found to be doing it. In California, shilling is considered to be illegal as it is in violation of California’s Business & Professions Code which bans any “unfair or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deception, untrue, or misleading advertising”. 

Victims of Fake Negative Reviews

It is usually only when business owners who find fake reviews about their business complain that fake reviews can be discovered. These business owners are commonly the victims of negative fake reviews and wish to have these reviews removed from the website. If you are a victim of fake reviews, filing a lawsuit is the first step to making the culprit answerable to the deed. If you do not know the identity of the writer, you will still need to file a lawsuit to obtain a subpoena for the website where you can get information that will help you establish the identity of the review writer.