Corporations Are Trying to Take Your Right to Complain About Their Products Away [View all]

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http://www.alternet.org/economy/why-consumers-are-fighting-their-right-gripe



Customers may unknowingly sign away their right to free speech by accepting the terms of service without reading the fine print. To prevent consumers from posting negative reviews, some companies are slipping non-disparagement clauses into contracts. If users post bad reviews online, even accounts that are completely truthful, they could be sued for violating the terms of these so-called agreements.

Companies do have the right to sue people for disparaging reviews if they are false. The issue at hand is whether a company can sue a client for posting a negative review that is true. As of now, litigation is largely determined on a case-by-case and state-by-state basis.

Recent Cases in the News

Kendra McConnell, a resident of Arizona, posted a review on Yelp after having her car repaired at Premier Coach Works in El Mirage. She stated that she was unhappy with the repair job as well as Premier's customer service. Shortly afterwards, McConnell received a letter from Premier Coach stating that she must remove her review from Yelp because it wasn't truthful. Instead of taking it down, McConnell posted the letter along with a rebuttal in her existing review. According to McConnell, Premier Coach sued her 10 days later.

"I was very upset that I would have to take time off, research, and find a lawyer to represent me because I was acting out my freedom of speech," McConnell told KPHO. When she finally agreed to remove her post from Yelp, Premier Coach Works dropped their lawsuit.