Online reviews posted by employees: businesses could be liable
January 18, 2024 – GATINEAU, QC – Competition Bureau
Employees must be transparent when posting reviews about the business for which they work or its competitors
January 18, 2024 – GATINEAU, QC – Competition Bureau
The Competition Bureau is warning businesses to watch out for reviews posted by their employees that don’t properly disclose their business connection.
When posting online reviews about their company or its competitors, employees must disclose all connections they have with the business, product or service they promote, even if they’re providing their honest opinion. These connections have the potential to affect how consumers evaluate the reviewer’s independence. This applies to all types of reviews, including testimonials on social media.
Anyone who writes or permits writing reviews that give a false or misleading impression to consumers could be liable under the Competition Act.
Reviews must be transparent and truthful to allow consumers to make informed shopping choices.
To stay on the right side of the law, the Bureau recommends that businesses:
- Train employees to properly disclose their business connection when posting reviews about the company or its competitors. If it’s impossible to make their business connection clearly visible within their review, they should avoid posting it. For example, employees should not assign star ratings to products or services if the disclosure of the employment relationship is either impossible or separated from the overall rating.
- Put in place a compliance program to prevent misleading reviews by employees and build an effective monitoring system to detect misconduct.
“Online reviews often strike at the heart of a consumer’s buying decision. Shoppers trust that reviews are from real unbiased customers, just like them. When employees post reviews without disclosing their relationship with the business, consumers are misled. We will not hesitate to vigorously pursue enforcement action against problematic reviews.”
Matthew Boswell,
Commissioner of Competition
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that protects and promotes competition for the benefit of Canadian consumers and businesses. Competition drives lower prices and innovation while fueling economic growth.
