CFPB releases compliance guidance on online consumer reviews

Federal Issues CFPB CFPA FTC Consumer Protection

On March 22, the CFPB released a compliance bulletin regarding potentially illegal practices related to consumer reviews. The guidance highlights certain business practices related to consumer reviews that are generally unlawful under the CFPA, which include, among other things: (i) deceiving consumers by using purported contractual restrictions that are unenforceable; (ii) unfairly depriving consumers of information using restrictions on consumer reviews; and (iii) deceiving consumers who read consumer reviews about the nature of those reviews. According to the CFPB, the effort is related to the FTC’s work to counter fake reviews and connected fraud in the digital economy. (Covered by InfoBytes here).