Bumping head-on with a corporation as big as Google may seem like a bad idea but for businesses who have had fake reviews at their expense, they would be willing to do just about anything to have these reviews deleted. Getting fake reviews with malicious content that can ruin the reputation of a business is a nightmare for any business owner especially in today’s times where almost everyone depends on information found on the net. Reviews posted on public websites such as Google are especially influential to potential customers as comments from others can either attract their business or lose it. If you are a victim of fake reviews, you should know that you can remove reviews from Google but there are some things you should know first.

 How Google Deals With Defamation Issues

Defamation, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as “the act of defaming another”. Libel and slander are both considered forms of defamation as it causes harm to the reputation of a person or company. If you want to have reviews removed from Google due to defamatory content, the first thing you should know is where Google stands with the issue. Google actually follows a defamation policy wherein they will not remove content such as reviews from their search page, websites they own, as well as other websites not associated with them. While this may seem unreasonable, they are in fact protected by the law under the Communications Decency Act. Services such as Google and Yelp are merely 3^rd party re-publishers and are in no way endorsing the actual publisher of content like reviews. While Google can be of limited help when you want to remove reviews from Google sites, there is still a way to ensure that they will do something about it.

 How Google Deals with Subpoena

If you want to do something about the fake reviews about your business, you need to file a lawsuit against the person who wrote the fake review. You can then send a subpoena request to Google so that you can get certain information that will help you win your case. Google is based in California so subpoena requests coming from states other than that will automatically be ignored. They require a formal legal process coming from within U.S. jurisdiction and in accord with U.S. laws before they release any information regarding Google users which means an order signed by a judge is probably the only thing that will get Google to budge at all.

 Getting a Response

You can remove reviews from Google if the court finds the content false and defamatory. Google will first have to honor the subpoena request to give you information regarding the writer of the false review. Once the court rules in your favor, Google also needs to receive a copy of the ruling before they will be able to delete the fake review completely. Google is a giant corporation that can be difficult to budge over issues such as defamation but it is possible as long as everything is done through the right channels.