On Dec. 14, 2016, President Barack Obama signed the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA). Dubbed by some as the “Right to Yelp Bill,” the CRFA protects consumers who would like to post online reviews of goods and services by preventing businesses from silencing consumer critics through nondisparagement agreements. For those who value the free exchange of information, the CRFA is a welcome piece of legislation.
The CRFA is a legislative response to a growing trend in which businesses have required customers to sign form contracts with nondisparagement clauses. These nondisparagement clauses typically prohibit consumers from posting negative reviews about their experiences. Similar clauses provide that the businesses will retain intellectual property rights over any consumer-created review, giving the businesses a legal right to ask third parties to take down negative reviews based on the businesses’ purported ownership of the review.
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