If people are posting negative comments online about your business, can you do anything about it? It depends.
Not every negative statement posted online is actionable. Criticizing a person, product or service online is often referred to as cybergriping – and it is perfectly legal as long as the cybergriper sticks to the facts.
The First Amendment protects a customer’s rights to share with others the truth about any bad experiences he has had with a business. In many cases, the disgruntled customer may even use a domain name that mimics and parodies the business’ domain name – JonesCarpetCleaningIsAwful.com.
However, the cybergriper steps outside legal boundaries when his criticism includes false statements about the business and the business suffers harm as a result of the false statements. In that case, the business may have a valid legal claim that’s worthy of a lawsuit – or at least a cease-and-desist letter.
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