Review Gating and the FTC Fake Review Rule: A Plain Guide
Two sets of rules govern how businesses collect and handle reviews in the US. One is each platform's own policy, most importantly Google's. The other is federal law, including the Federal Trade Commission's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, which took effect on October 21, 2024.
They overlap, but they're not identical, and a lot of what's written online blurs them together. This guide separates them. It's general information, not legal advice; if you're facing a specific legal question, talk to a lawyer.
What is review gating?
Review gating means filtering customers before asking them for a public review. The classic version is a two-step message:
- "How would you rate your experience?" (1 to 5 stars, or thumbs up/down)
- Happy customers get a link to Google. Unhappy ones get a private feedback form, and never see the public review link.
Variations include staff only handing review cards to customers who seem pleased, or software that sends review requests only after a high Net Promoter Score.
The result is a public rating built only from customers who were pre-screened as happy. It looks great, and it misleads every person who reads it.
What Google says
Google's Maps prohibited and restricted content policy is direct. Businesses shouldn't:
- "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers"
- "Offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services - in exchange for posting any review or revision or removal of a negative review"
- Require or pressure users to leave ratings or reviews while on the premises, or request that specific content be included
Google also treats reviews with a conflict of interest (owners, employees, competitors) and rating manipulation as violations. Consequences range from removed reviews to restrictions on the Business Profile.
Note that Google's policy is stricter than the FTC rule on incentives. Under Google's rules, any incentive for a review is out, even one offered to every customer regardless of what they write.
What the FTC rule prohibits
The FTC rule (16 CFR Part 465) targets specific deceptive practices. The FTC's announcement and its Q&A for businesses summarize it. The main parts:
Fake or false reviews (465.2)
Businesses can't write, create or sell reviews that misrepresent who wrote them or that misrepresent the reviewer's experience, including AI-generated reviews from people who don't exist. They also can't buy such reviews, or procure them from insiders, when they knew or should have known they were false.
Buying positive or negative reviews (465.4)
Businesses can't offer compensation or other incentives conditioned, expressly or by implication, on a review expressing a particular sentiment. The FTC's Q&A gives examples of implied conditions, such as "Tell us how much you loved your visit... and get a $5 coupon."
Insider reviews (465.5)
Reviews by officers, managers, employees or agents need a clear disclosure of the relationship, and there are rules about soliciting reviews from employees' relatives. The FTC's Q&A notes an exception for generalized requests sent to all purchasers, if a few of those purchasers happen to be employees.
Company-controlled review sites (465.6)
Businesses can't pretend a website or organization they control provides independent reviews of their own products or services.
Review suppression (465.7)
Businesses can't use groundless legal threats, physical threats, intimidation or knowingly false public accusations to stop a review being written or to get one removed. And a business that displays reviews on its own website can't suppress negative ones by rating or sentiment while implying the displayed reviews are all or most of what it received.
Fake social media indicators (465.8)
Buying or selling fake followers, views and similar indicators for commercial purposes, when the buyer knew or should have known they were fake.
Penalties
The rule lets the FTC seek civil penalties for knowing violations, which it says it couldn't easily do before. The Q&A also states the rule doesn't create a private right of action, meaning consumers can't sue under it directly.
So is review gating illegal under the FTC rule?
This is where precision matters. The FTC's own Q&A answers the question "Can my business ask for reviews only from customers whom we think are happy with our services?" by saying the rule doesn't contain a specific prohibition, but that the practice could violate the FTC Act, pointing to its Endorsement Guides. In other words: not a violation of this particular rule, but still a legal risk, and the FTC has flagged it. The FTC's older guide, Soliciting and Paying for Online Reviews, also advises against asking only the customers you expect to be happy.
Add Google's explicit ban, and the practical answer is simple: don't gate.
Common questions
Can we still collect private feedback?
Yes, as long as it isn't a filter. You can send a survey, and you can send a review request. What you can't do is let the survey answer decide who gets the review link. Send the review link to everyone, whatever they said in the survey.
Can we offer a prize drawing for reviews?
Under the FTC rule, an incentive offered for any review, positive or negative, isn't banned, though failing to disclose it could still be a problem under the FTC Act. Under Google's policy, it's not allowed at all. Since most businesses care most about Google reviews, the answer is no.
Can we ask a customer to update a review after we fix their problem?
The FTC Q&A says the rule doesn't prohibit simply asking satisfied customers to update their reviews. Offering them something to change or remove a review is different: Google prohibits it, and the FTC says paying to remove truthful negative reviews may violate the FTC Act. Fix the problem; let them decide.
Can our employees review us?
On Google, no: that's a conflict of interest. Under the FTC rule, insider reviews need a clear disclosure. Simplest policy: staff don't review the business.
We hired an agency. Are we responsible for what they do?
Potentially, yes. The FTC's Q&A says reputation management companies can themselves be liable under the rule, and businesses can be liable for reviews they knew or should have known were fake. Ask any vendor exactly how they get reviews and how they handle negative ones.
A clean review program, in six lines
- Every customer gets the same review request
- No rating question decides who gets the link
- No incentives for Google reviews
- No reviews from owners, staff, family or vendors
- No threats, pressure or false accusations against reviewers
- Rule-breaking reviews reported through official channels only
That's exactly how our review generation service is set up. If you're not sure whether your current tool gates reviews, ask us and we'll take a look.
