CHAPTER 9

The Legal Backlash

 

Businesses Suing Consumers After They Post Negative Social Media Posts About Their Consumer Experience

A developing legal and ethical issue in emerging media is whether a business has the right to sue and win in court against a consumer who received what they believe was poor service or a bad product and posted a negative review.

Simply do a Google search with this or a similar phrase and many stories immediately pop up: “businesses sue over negative social media posts.”

One consumer who was angry over what she thought was poor work on her home logged onto Yelp and posted negative reviews about the firm that did the work, including claims that some of her jewelry was missing. The contractor filed a $750,000 Internet ...

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