Yelp Headed To Supreme Court After Refusing To Reveal Identities Of Alleged Fake Reviewers

The Wall Street Journal reports an Internet free-speech case against online review site Yelp is headed to the Virginia Supreme Court this month.

Lawsuits were initially filed by a carpet cleaning company whose business reportedly dropped by 30% following a string of negative reviews.

The owner of the carpet cleaning company believes he was a victim of fraudulent reviews. He is not alone, as The Federal Trade Commission reportedly received more than 2,046 complaints filed about Yelp from 2008 through March 4 of this year.

The majority of the complaints are from business owners who claim to have received fraudulent reviews, with some even claiming the fraudulent reviews began to flow in after turning down a pitch to advertise on Yelp.

In response to these claims, Yelp spokeswoman Kristen Whisenand said:

Our recommendation software doesnt punish people who dont advertise There has never been any amount of money you can pay Yelp to manipulate reviews.

The owner of the carpet cleaning business filed lawsuits against seven reviewers who he believe are fake based on the time and location of the reviews. Yelp has denied his request to reveal the true identities of the fake reviewers and have since been held in contempt.

In January Yelp appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, arguing that the reviews are protected under the First Amendment and the evidence presented wasnt enough to prove the reviewers were fake.

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Yelp Headed To Supreme Court After Refusing To Reveal Identities Of Alleged Fake Reviewers