Reaching for the Stars : A Proposal to the FTC to Help Deter Astroturfing and Fake Reviews

Reaching for the Stars : A Proposal to the FTC to Help Deter Astroturfing and Fake Reviews

Journal article

33 pages

0736-7694

This Note will explore the implications of the deceitful customer review—the phenomena known as astroturfing—and how companies and individuals use this practice, as well as its regulation and enforcement. Part I will discuss the importance of the online consumer review and the emergence of astroturfing. Part II will analyze how consumer protection laws promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission Act are being enforced, and,specifically, the lack of such enforcement. It will also highlight how the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has attacked some of the largest, most well-known corporations in the U.S. today. Part III will illuminate how New York has taken a hard stance against astroturfing and the effort it takes to prosecute local businesses under state law. Part IV will assess whether or not fake reviews equate to false advertising under the Lanham Act and the exceptionally difficult standard one must meet. Finally, this Note will pose a recommendation and briefly conclude in Parts V and VI, respectively.

Published in : Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law, vol. 36, no. 3 (2018)

[New York City, New York] : Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 2018.

English