Short answer: in the US, yes. Fake reviews, bought reviews, and several related practices are now specifically prohibited by federal rule, and as of the end of 2025 the FTC has started enforcing it. If your brand uses reviews in any way, and every e-commerce brand does, this is worth understanding.
This is general information, not legal advice. For anything you intend to rely on, check with your own counsel.
The rule, in plain terms
In August 2024 the FTC finalised its Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, which took effect on 21 October 2024. It sets a federal minimum standard, and breaking it can bring civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. Those penalties add up fast, because each offending review or practice can count separately.
What it actually bans
The rule targets a specific list of practices:
- Fake or false reviews, including AI-generated reviews and reviews from people who never used the product. Creating them, selling them, or buying them is prohibited.
- Buying positive or negative reviews. You cannot offer compensation or incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment, whether that is a glowing five stars or a hit on a competitor.
- Undisclosed insider reviews. Reviews by employees, officers or their family must clearly disclose the connection.
- Company-controlled review sites that pretend to be independent.
- Review suppression, including using unfounded legal threats or intimidation to bury honest negative reviews. This is the part that catches review gating.
- Fake social media indicators, such as bought followers or likes used to misrepresent influence.
It is no longer just theory
For its first year the rule sat mostly as a warning. That changed at the end of 2025, when the FTC sent formal warning letters to around ten companies over their review practices, gave them days to respond, and made clear that continued non-compliance could mean lawsuits and penalties. In other words, this is now an active enforcement priority, not a box-ticking exercise.
What compliant practice looks like
The reassuring part: honest businesses do not have to do anything clever. A broad, even-handed invitation asking all your customers for an honest review is explicitly fine. What is not fine is steering the sentiment, filtering out the unhappy, paying for stars, or quietly deleting criticism you do not like. If you already ask everyone, respond to what comes in, and never incentivise a particular rating, you are most of the way there.
Two of our other guides go deeper on the practices most likely to trip up a growing brand: what review gating is, and how to get more Trustpilot reviews the compliant way.
Why we care about this
Compliance is the whole reason Repwellco exists in the shape it does. We never write or buy reviews, never solicit only happy customers, never tie incentives to positive feedback, and never suppress legitimate criticism. Doing it properly protects you as much as it protects your reputation. If you want a review process you do not have to worry about, that is what we do.