When Does Cybergriping about a Business Cross the Legal Line?

If people are posting negative comments online about your business, can you do anything about it? It depends.

Not every negative statement posted online is actionable. Criticizing a person, product or service online is often referred to as cybergriping – and it is perfectly legal as long as the cybergriper sticks to the facts.

The First Amendment protects a customer’s rights to share with others the truth about any bad experiences he has had with a business. In many cases, the disgruntled customer may even use a domain name that mimics and parodies the business’ domain name – JonesCarpetCleaningIsAwful.com.

However, the cybergriper steps outside legal boundaries when his criticism includes false statements about the business and the business suffers harm as a result of the false statements. In that case, the business may have a valid legal claim that’s worthy of a lawsuit – or at least a cease-and-desist letter.