Since 21 October 2024, the US Federal Trade Commission has had a rule aimed squarely at fake reviews and testimonials. It lets courts impose civil penalties for knowing violations, and it reaches the agencies and tools businesses use, not only the businesses themselves. Here is what it says, without the legal jargon.
This is a summary to help you understand the rule, not legal advice. For your own situation, read the FTC’s questions and answers on the rule or talk to a lawyer.
What the rule covers
Its full name is the Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465). It covers consumer reviews, like star ratings on a product page, and testimonials, like a customer’s video on your homepage. It also covers celebrity testimonials.
The six things it bans
1. Fake or false reviews and testimonials
You can’t write, create or sell reviews or testimonials that misrepresent who gave them or what their experience was. That includes testimonials from people who don’t exist, from people who never used the product, and ones that misstate what a real customer actually thinks. It applies however the fake was made, so AI-generated testimonials presented as real customers are covered. Buying fake reviews, or publishing ones you knew or should have known were fake, is banned too.
2. Paying for a particular opinion
You can’t offer a reward on the condition that the review or testimonial is positive (or, for a competitor, negative), whether you say so outright or only imply it. Incentives as such are not banned. Thanking people for an honest testimonial, whatever they say, is fine, as long as you disclose the incentive where you show it.
3. Undisclosed insider reviews
Reviews and testimonials from your staff, managers or their families need a clear disclosure of that relationship. A five-star review from the founder’s sister, presented as an ordinary customer, is exactly what this targets.
4. Fake “independent” review sites
You can’t present a website or organisation you control as an independent source of reviews or opinions about your own products.
5. Suppressing negative reviews
You can’t use unfounded legal threats, intimidation or false accusations to stop or remove negative reviews.
6. Fake social media influence
You can’t buy or sell fake followers, views or likes to make a business or person look more influential than they are, for commercial purposes.
What about only asking happy customers?
This practice, often called review gating, isn’t named in the rule itself. The FTC has said it can still break the wider FTC Act, because showing only the praise you filtered for can mislead people. The safe habit is simple: ask customers broadly, and don’t screen people out based on whether you expect them to be positive.
Who it applies to
- Businesses that collect and use reviews and testimonials in their marketing.
- Agencies and service providers. Marketing and PR agencies, review brokers and reputation management firms are not immune.
- Not ordinary customers. A consumer isn’t liable for writing a review or accepting an incentive.
- Not, generally, sites that only host reviews without writing or buying them.
Practical habits that keep you safe
- Only use testimonials from real customers who actually used what you sell, with their permission.
- Never edit what someone said in a way that changes its meaning. Trimming for length is one thing; turning “it was fine” into “it was fantastic” is another.
- Keep a record of consent: what the person agreed to, word for word, and when.
- Disclose connections and incentives clearly, next to the testimonial.
- Don’t generate testimonials with AI or present invented people as customers.
- Label reviews you bring in from elsewhere with where they came from.
- Ask broadly, not only the customers you expect to be happiest.
How Akteora is built around the rule
We built Akteora with this rule in mind, so the honest way is also the easy way:
- Every collected testimonial comes from a real person who opened your link.
- The consent wording they agreed to is stored word for word with their testimonial.
- Original recordings are never edited or overwritten.
- AI never writes or rewrites testimonials. In reels, it only suggests which real moments to use, and captions come straight from what was said.
- Imported reviews are labelled with their source and never counted in your public star rating.
- Your public rating is the real average of every public testimonial, not just the ones a widget chooses to show.
How you use testimonials in your marketing is still up to you, and still your responsibility. But the tools shouldn’t make it harder. Try Akteora free, or read how to ask customers for a testimonial the right way.