Law firm or removal service: which route gets which review removed
Two kinds of firm offer to deal with a damaging review. A removal service works through the platform's rules. A law firm works through the courts and the threat of them. They are not substitutes. This page sets out which problem each one solves. We remove the reviews that break the platform's rules, and you pay per removal. We are a removal service and not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice.
Updated
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Short answer
Use a removal service when a review breaks the platform's rules: another person's details, advertising, a different business, an ineligible reviewer, or harmful content. Use a defamation lawyer when a review states something false as fact, you can prove it, the harm is serious, and the platform has kept it online. The legal route is slower, public and far more costly, and a legal threat without real grounds is itself banned by the FTC's review rule. Most reviews that can be removed at all can be removed by flagging.
Key facts
Trustpilot can remove a review for one of five reasons under its own guidelines, and defamation is one sub-reason among them.
Source: For which reasons can businesses flag service reviews?, Trustpilot Help Center
A defamation claim generally needs a false statement of fact, communicated to others, with fault, that caused harm. Opinions are generally protected.
Source: Defamation (Wex legal encyclopedia), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Section 230 says a platform is not treated as the publisher of content provided by its users, so a claim is normally against the reviewer.
The FTC's review rule bans unfounded or groundless legal threats used to stop a review or have it removed.
Erase.com's cost guide gives an industry range of $5,000 to $100,000 or more for legal action over a review.
Source: erase.com
Two different questions
A removal service asks: does this review break the platform's guidelines?
A law firm asks: does this review give you a legal claim against the person who wrote it?
Most damaging reviews fail both tests, because they are true, or they are opinions. Some pass the first and not the second: a review with a promo code is against Trustpilot's rules and is nobody's idea of defamation. A few pass the second. Those are the lawyer's cases.
The two routes, side by side
| Compared on | Removal service | Defamation law firm |
|---|---|---|
| Works through | The platform's flagging tool, inside your business account | Letters, retraction demands, subpoenas, lawsuits |
| Test applied | Trustpilot's five flagging reasons | State defamation law: a false statement of fact, fault and harm |
| Who is on the other side | Nobody. Trustpilot assesses the flag | The reviewer, as a defendant |
| Who decides | Trustpilot's Content Integrity Team | A court, or a settlement |
| Time | Weeks of paced flagging. Trustpilot publishes no decision time | Months to years |
| Cost | See the public price list | One published industry range is $5,000 to $100,000 or more |
| Public? | Your flagging record is public in aggregate | Court filings are public, and can attract press |
| Can identify an anonymous writer | No | Sometimes, through a court process |
| Regulated by | Trustpilot's misuse policy and the FTC's review rule | Bar rules, and the FTC's rule on groundless threats |
What flagging can do that a lawsuit cannot
- Remove a review that is true but breaks a rule, such as one that publishes a nurse's phone number.
- Remove promotional and spam reviews, which harm nobody in a legal sense.
- Work without a confrontation. The reviewer is asked to edit, or is asked for information, through Trustpilot.
- Work at a cost in proportion to a single review.
What a lawsuit can do that flagging cannot
- Reach a review that follows the platform's rules and is still false and damaging.
- Identify an anonymous writer through a court process, where a court allows it.
- Win damages where the harm is real and provable.
- Stop a campaign by a competitor or a former employee, not only one review.
Our Minc Law page looks at one well-known firm's published approach.
Why the platform is not the defendant
Section 230 says a provider of an interactive computer service is not treated as the publisher or speaker of content provided by someone else. The same section protects platforms that remove content in good faith. So the law leaves the choice with the platform in both directions, and a claim goes against the writer.
The line the FTC drew
The FTC's rule on consumer reviews makes it a violation to use "an unfounded or groundless legal threat" in an attempt to stop a review or have it removed. Its questions and answers say legal threats must rest on legitimate grounds.
That does not stop a real claim. It does stop the old habit of sending a lawyer's letter to every 1-star reviewer. A contract clause that bans negative reviews fails too. It is void under the federal law explained in what the Consumer Review Fairness Act protects.
Pick the route that fits the review
- Read the review against Trustpilot's five reasons first. The qualification tool takes two minutes. If a reason fits, flag. It is quicker and quieter.
- If no reason fits, ask whether it states a fact or an opinion. "Worst company ever" is opinion. "They sold me expired medication" is a statement of fact.
- If it is a false statement of fact, ask what it has cost you. Defamation needs harm.
- If the harm is serious and provable, speak to a defamation lawyer before anyone contacts the reviewer.
- If it is a true complaint, reply well and fix the cause. Neither route applies.
Health brands should add one check at step 4. Proving a patient's statement false can need that patient's records. Our guide on suing over a bad review covers that and more.
What you get from Remove One Star
We do the first step for every 1-star and 2-star review on a profile, and we say so when a review looks like a question for a lawyer. We do not give legal advice, draft letters or have a referral arrangement with any law firm. Request a free audit to see both lists.
Frequently asked questions
In the US a platform is usually not liable for what its users write, under Section 230, so a lawsuit is normally against the reviewer. Trustpilot applies its own guidelines to the review. Ask a defamation lawyer how a judgment would be used in your case.
Only with real legal grounds. The FTC's review rule makes it a violation to use an unfounded or groundless legal threat to get a review removed. A letter sent to every critic is a legal risk for the sender. Source: 16 CFR 465.7.
Flagging. Our flagging schedules run for weeks, and Trustpilot publishes no decision time. Litigation runs for months or years.
Primary sources used on this page
- For which reasons can businesses flag service reviews?. Trustpilot Help CenterLast verified
- Defamation (Wex legal encyclopedia). Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law SchoolLast verified
- 47 U.S. Code § 230: Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law SchoolLast verified
- 16 CFR Part 465: Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials. Electronic Code of Federal RegulationsLast verified
- Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers. Federal Trade CommissionLast verified
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- Remove One Star vs Erase.com: who removes your 1-star Trustpilot reviews, and how you pay