Businesses could face penalties over online reviews, Competition Bureau warns

Misleading or false online reviews written by employees about their own company or competitors could result in penalties, Canada’s Competition Bureau has warned.

The federal agency is also urging employees to be transparent about whom they work for when post these reviews online.

In a news release Thursday, Competitions Bureau said businesses should watch out for all types of reviews, including testimonials on social media, posted by their employees that don’t properly identify themselves.

“When posting online reviews about their company or its competitors, employees must disclose all connections they have with the business, product or service they promote, even if they’re providing their honest opinion,” the bureau said in the release.

If an employee writes a review that gives a “false or misleading” impression to consumers, then both the person and their company could be liable under the Competition Act. This could result in “significant penalties,” according to the federal agency.

In order to avoid that, the Bureau is recommending employees get training to properly disclose their business affiliation when posting reviews about the company or its competitors.

“If it’s impossible to make their business connection clearly visible within their review, they should avoid posting it,” the bureau says.

To prevent misleading reviews, businesses should also have a compliance program in place for employees. They should also have an effective monitoring system to detect misconduct.

“When employees post reviews without disclosing their relationship with the business, consumers are misled,” competition commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a statement.

“We will not hesitate to vigorously pursue enforcement action against problematic