Review Gating: What the FTC Reviews Rule and Guides Say

The FTC's reviews rule has no section on review gating, and its staff say the rule contains no specific prohibition on asking for reviews only from customers a business thinks are happy Source [2]. The FTC's Endorsement Guides do describe that practice and say it may be an unfair or deceptive practice if it results in posted reviews that are substantially more positive than they would have been otherwise Source [3].

On this page, review gating means a flow that sends happy customers to a public review site and the unhappy ones somewhere private. This is general information, not legal advice. It reads the FTC's texts and does not cover state laws or the terms of any review platform.

Our read: a post that asks customers for a review would be one more of the texts, images and carousels Autonomah creates for a campaign Source [4].

What the Guides say about the practice itself

The Guides' own example is close to a textbook case. A marketer asks recent purchasers for feedback, then invites those who give very positive feedback to post reviews on third-party websites, and the less pleased are simply thanked for their feedback Source [3]. The Guides say that may be an unfair or deceptive practice if it results in the posted reviews being substantially more positive than if the marketer had not done it Source [3].

They add the other side of the example. If the marketer had simply invited all recent purchasers to provide feedback on third-party websites, the solicitation would not have been unfair or deceptive, even if the marketer had said it hoped for positive reviews Source [3].

The principle behind the example is in section 255.2(d). In procuring, suppressing, boosting, organizing, publishing or editing consumer reviews, advertisers should not take actions that have the effect of distorting or otherwise misrepresenting what consumers think of their products Source [3]. The Guides are administrative interpretations, and practices inconsistent with them may lead to corrective action by the Commission Source [3].

What the rule itself bans

Part 465 is the FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials Source [1], and it names specific acts. None of these three is about which customers you invite.

• Section 465.4 bans providing compensation or other incentives in exchange for, or conditioned expressly or by implication on, reviews expressing a particular sentiment, positive or negative Source [1].
• Section 465.7(b) bans materially misrepresenting that the reviews displayed in a part of your website or platform dedicated to receiving and displaying reviews represent most or all of those submitted, when reviews are being suppressed because of their ratings or negative sentiment Source [1].
• Section 465.7(a) bans groundless legal threats, physical threats, intimidation and public accusations made knowing they are false, or with reckless disregard for their truth, in order to stop a review or get it removed Source [1].

Rewards for reviews

The staff say the rule does not prohibit giving incentives for reviews, as long as there is no express or implied requirement that the reviews express a particular sentiment Source [2]. Their examples of an implied requirement are "Tell us how much you loved your visit" with a coupon, and "Tell your friends about all the fun you had" for a chance to win prizes Source [2]. A business that merely expects an incentivized review to be positive does not violate the section, though the staff say the practice could still violate the FTC Act Source [2].

A disclosure does not fix a bought sentiment. Asked whether a business can pay for five-star reviews on third-party platforms if it asks reviewers to add a disclosure, the staff answer no, and say the section applies whether the reviews appear on your website or on third-party platforms Source [2].

What "suppression" covers

The suppression section reaches a portion of a website or platform dedicated in whole or in part to receiving and displaying consumer reviews Source [1]. The staff say it does not cover the selective use of especially positive reviews in marketing, although non-representative reviews in marketing could still be deceptive under the FTC Act Source [2].

Withholding a review is not suppression when the criteria apply equally to all reviews, whatever their sentiment. The rule's list includes defamatory or abusive content, another person's personal information, content that is clearly false or misleading, a review the seller reasonably believes is fake, and one wholly unrelated to the products or services Source [1]. The Guides give a retailer example on the other side: a camping goods site that does not publish reviews with fewer than four stars or with negative sentiments would mislead about purchasers' actual opinions Source [3].

On display order, the staff say that organizing reviews, for example with the ones the public voted most helpful at the top, is not suppression Source [2]. Ordering by rating with five-star reviews first is not covered by the rule either, but a layout that makes negative reviews hard to find could be deceptive under the FTC Act Source [2].

Contacting unhappy customers

Reaching out is not what the texts target. The staff say the rule does not prohibit contacting customers who post negative reviews to resolve the issues, and does not prohibit simply asking satisfied customers to update their reviews Source [2]. A business may respond publicly to a negative review, but it should not make an accusation about the reviewer that it knows is false or makes with reckless disregard for the truth, and its response should not use physical threats or intimidation to get the review changed or removed Source [2]. Offering a reviewer an incentive to take a review down is not banned by the rule, yet the staff say it could be an unfair practice under the FTC Act Source [2].

A routine for review requests

These steps are ours, and neither the rule nor the Guides prescribe them.

1. Write one request and send it to every recent customer, not only to the ones you expect to be happy.
2. Offer no reward that depends on the rating, and keep the words free of any hint that only a good review earns it.
3. If you gather private feedback first, invite everyone to post publicly afterward, not just the pleased ones.
4. Never drop a review from a display you control because it is negative. If you withhold reviews at all, apply the same criteria to all of them, as the rule's list describes Source [1].
5. Answer a negative review in public in plain terms, and if the problem is real, contact the customer to fix it.

Autonomah writes that request once for the brand's identity and fits it to the format of each network Source [4]. Step 2 is a reading task for a person, not a setting.

How Autonomah does it

Autonomah is an artificial creative and advertising brain that thinks, creates and publishes each brand's advertising Source [4]. Every piece answers to an objective, which the site defines as what a brand's communication has to achieve, such as more people knowing the brand, visiting its site or getting in touch Source [4]. A review request is a piece like any other, so it arrives ready to review with its objective and its reason Source [4].

Frequently asked questions

What is considered review gating?

None of the three FTC texts we read defines the phrase Source [1]Source [2]Source [3]. We use it for sending only happy customers to a public site. The Guides describe that conduct without the name: inviting purchasers who give very positive feedback to post reviews, and thanking the others Source [3].

Is review gating illegal?

The rule contains no specific prohibition against asking for reviews only from customers a business thinks are happy, and the staff say so directly Source [2]. They add that the practice could violate the FTC Act Source [2]. The Guides say it may be an unfair or deceptive practice if the posted reviews end up substantially more positive than they otherwise would have been Source [3].

What are the FTC guidelines for review gating?

They sit in the Endorsement Guides, section 255.2(e), Example 11, and in the staff's answer on asking only happy customers Source [2]Source [3]. The Guides treat inviting all recent purchasers as acceptable, even if the invitation says the business hopes for positive reviews Source [3].