On June 30, the FTC announced that it had issued a new notice of proposed rulemaking that addresses fake reviews and testimonials.  The rule prohibits practices the Commissioners have identified as problematic in public statements for the past several years.  For instance, when announcing the review of the Endorsement Guides over a year ago, Chair Khan noted that “consumers’ increasing reliance on online reviews can also incentivize advertisers to harness fake reviews, suppress negative reviews, and amplify positive ones.”  The proposed rule covers a variety of topics including fake reviews, review hijacking, purchasing reviews, employee reviews, review suppression, and the use of fake indicators of social media influence.  Several of the new provisions track principles set forth in prior FTC cases, or target specific practices previously identified in the Endorsement Guides.  Below we’ve summarized the requirements in the proposed rule.  The NPRM will be open for public comment for 60 days once it is posted in the federal register.  As of today, it has not yet been posted.Continue Reading FTC Proposes New Rulemaking Focused on Reviews and Testimonials