{"id":2145,"slug":"ftc-fake-review-rule-and-google-policies","title":"FTC fake-review rule + Google policies — manipulation legally risky and increasingly detectable","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["review-revenue-causal-evidence"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** The FTC's fake-review rule and Google policies **prohibit incentivized / fake reviews**; manipulation is both legally risky and increasingly detectable. Honest review generation only.\n\n**Source:** FTC final rule on fake reviews and testimonials; Google Business Profile content policy.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Hard compliance limit on review-generation work. The widget's recommendation to \"ask your most recent customers for a review\" is fine; \"buy reviews,\" \"incentivize reviews,\" or \"have employees write reviews\" is not. Reinforces why reviews are a durable moat ([[reviews-as-conversion-moat]]) — they cannot legitimately be shortcut.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-smb-widget-difficulty-to-work-june-2026","title":"Research brief: SMB widget difficulty-to-work mapping — three tiers of work for three sizes of gap (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"tier-2-findability-and-trust","title":"Tier 2 — Findability + trust infrastructure (MODERATE GAP)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-23T20:03:31.959Z","updated_at":"2026-06-23T20:03:31.959Z"}