Pop quiz: A Federal Trade Commission rule that took effect in September 2024 prohibits businesses from doing which of the following:
- Misrepresenting AI-generated reviews and testimonials as coming from a person who had actual experience with the business or its products and services.
- Compensating or providing other incentives to a consumer in exchange for their review that expresses a particular sentiment.
- Publishing consumer reviews on the business website.
- Selling or buying followers or views, such as by a bot or hijacked account, to indicate inflated social media influence.
If you answered “a, b and d,” you are correct, but the above list of prohibited actions is not an exhaustive one; the FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials goes even further to combat fake reviews and testimonials in an effort to deter AI-generated fake reviews and “protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive,” the FTC news release states.
Businesses could pay a penalty of up to $51,000 per violation.
Promoting a fake or purchased review? You are violating the FTC rule
CDA Senior Regulatory Compliance Analyst Teresa Pichay says she and her team of experts hear periodically from members seeking clarification on the rules regulating consumer reviews.
“Simply put, if you are using or otherwise promoting a review or testimonial that a real person did not write, you are violating the FTC rule,” Pichay says. “If you are using or otherwise promoting a review or testimonial that a real person wrote, but you are misrepresenting that person’s experience with the dental practice or its services or have paid or compensated the person for the review, you are also violating the rule.”
The prohibitions apply to reviews and testimonials wherever they are used — on the business’s website and social media accounts and in the business’s advertising, for example.
CDA members can reference Dental Practice Marketing and Advertising 101. CDA’s practice analysts updated the resource in April to cover the FTC law.
Avoid misrepresentation and suppression of reviews
Dentists should read the FTC rule or news release announcing the rule for the full background and prohibited actions, but in summary, the rule prohibits businesses from participating in six classes or types of review behaviors:
- Using, creating or selling fake or false consumer reviews, consumer testimonials and celebrity testimonials.
- Purchasing, or otherwise offering compensation for, positive or negative reviews.
- Promoting insider reviews and consumer testimonials, such as by the business’s managers or officers, “that fail to clearly and conspicuously disclose the giver’s material connection to the business.”
- Misrepresenting that the business-owned website or entity provides independent reviews or opinions about a category of products or services that includes its own products or services.
- Suppressing or attempting to prevent negative consumer reviews through intimidation, false public accusations, physical threats or unfounded legal threats.
- Selling or buying fake indicators of social media influence, such as bot-generated followers or views.
How a prohibited review might apply to a dental practice
The fourth prohibited action might not apply to dentists often, but Matthew Nelson, CDA’s practice management analyst, offers an example of how the second prohibited action might apply to a dentist-employer.
“Let’s say the practice sends an email to patients after they receive treatment and that email invites the patient to review the dental practice on Google Reviews, Yelp or similar site. That is OK, if the email stops there,” Nelson says. “But if the email states something like, ‘Leave us a four- or five-star review and we’ll enter you into a drawing for a free electronic toothbrush,’ the business has violated the FTC rule.”
Requirements also apply to managers who solicit consumer reviews from their employees and immediate relatives or who tell their employees to solicit reviews from their relatives. The law does allow for exceptions, such as when a business owner purchased or disseminated AI-generated or fake reviews unknowingly. The text of the FTC rule describes the prohibitions in full detail that this article does not cover.
Penalty per violation varies but can reach $51,000
The maximum civil penalty per violation is $51,744. However, the FTC rule states that “whether a business will be subject to civil penalties will depend on whether the facts show that the business had actual knowledge of the violation.”
In addition to covering the FTC rule, CDA’s member-only resource Dental Practice Marketing and Advertising 101 explains how the Dental Practice Act, CDA of Ethic and federal laws impact marketing and advertising. The resource also includes a Q&A, a marketing strategy checklist and much more.