Don't silence honest reviews
Using contracts to ban, penalize, or remove customers' negative reviews.
Read the policy
Don't fake or buy reviews
Paying for, incentivizing, or planting reviews, either your own or others'.
practice 1
Don't silence honest reviews
No business is perfect, and some negative feedback is inevitable. To limit it, some businesses write non-disparagement clauses or overly broad confidentiality provisions into customer contracts — terms that declare negative comments defamatory, or make transaction details "confidential" and penalize customers who speak publicly. BBB's position is simple: encourage feedback, don't suppress it.
These clauses are inconsistent with BBB's Standards for Trust. BBB may disclose their use on a company's Business Profile to inform the public. And BBB Accredited Businesses may not use them at all, consistent with the BBB Accreditation Standards.
practice 2
Don't buy or fake reviews
The flip side of suppression is fabrication — paying for reviews, offering gifts or discounts in exchange for them, planting reviews written by insiders, or using "mystery shopper" arrangements where a compensated consumer posts a review. A paid review that looks independent misleads the very shoppers reviews are meant to help.
BBB policy goes beyond the FTC: BBB does not accept incentivized customer reviews in any form — no discounts, gifts, or compensation tied to leaving a review. BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division (NAD) has also ruled on deceptive review and endorsement practices in national advertising.
the law behind both
Two federal pillars
since 2016
Consumer Review Fairness Act
Protects a consumer's right to post honest reviews and voids contract clauses that try to bar or punish them.
effective oct 21, 2024
FTC Consumer Reviews Rule
16 CFR Part 465. Bans fake, paid, and suppressed reviews alike — and is directly enforceable, with civil penalties per violation.
Accredited Businesses are held to a higher standard
The BBB Accreditation Standards prohibit both practices outright. Meeting federal law is the floor; accreditation is the commitment.
What to do instead
Invite reviews from everyone
Ask all customers, not just the happy ones, for honest feedback.
Respond, don't retaliate
Replying well can raise your ratings. See How to handle negative reviews.
Never pay for sentiment
Don't tie incentives to leaving a review.
Drop the clauses
Remove non-disparagement and broad confidentiality terms from consumer contracts.