A federal rule banning fake online reviews is now in effect.

The Federal Trade Commission issued the rulein August banning the sale or purchase of online reviews. The rule, which went into effect Monday, allows the agency to seek civil penalties against those who knowingly violate it.

“Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said about the rule in August. She added that the rule will “protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive.”

  • Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    75
    ·
    1 month ago

    Awesome, now make them criminally liable.

    Corporations are people, no? Throw them in prison.

    • mindaika@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      26
      ·
      1 month ago

      IMO, corporate punishments should work like that: steal a little from someone? Lose 90 days of profit. Steal a lot? Lose a couple years of profits. Kill someone? Lose 20 years of profits

      • Entertainmeonly@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        28
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 month ago

        Jailing CEOs works better only because money is easy to manipulate. Loosing 20 years of profit just means bankruptcy. Make a new name new company buys all assets of bankrupt at fault company and nothing but the name changes. I’m with the idea that if companies have personhood than the person in charge is responsible for harm that personhood does.

          • moakley@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            1 month ago

            The CEO would just be a fall guy, and the decision-making would go to someone else.

          • Fedizen@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 month ago

            I mean given the depths they’ll go through to dodge taxes I think they absolutely would change behavior.

        • Traister101@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 month ago

          No. That’s not what that means. Profit by definition is the excess revenue that isn’t required to run the business.

          • zbyte64@awful.systems
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 month ago

            Cool, so just do stock buy backs to eat the profits while rewarding the executive suite

            • Traister101@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              1 month ago

              So again. Profit is the excess revenue (this time in bold and italicized) that isn’t needed to run the business. Believe it or not stock buy backs aren’t required to run a business. Weird huh?

              • zbyte64@awful.systems
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                1 month ago

                Compensating your employees is an expense needed to run the business. Those buybacks is just the cost of doing business.

      • Wogi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 month ago

        They tried that when McDonald’s served coffee that gave an old woman 3rd degree burns on her genitals.

        A single days profits from coffee.

        McDonald’s fought that in court, and spent many thousands of dollars on a PR campaign to vilify the woman they burned.

      • Naryn@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 month ago

        It’s executed plenty.

        12 were executed in 2022

        Zoom in: Texas had 23 clinics in operation before the decision — 12 shut down and 11 are open but only offer services other than abortion.