--- title: "Can your shop policy ban negative reviews? CRFA and FTC rule" description: "A shop term banning or charging for negative reviews is void and unlawful to offer under the Consumer Review Fairness Act. What you can still do instead." canonical: https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/review-gag-clauses-and-suppression/ last_updated: 2026-10-23 publisher: "The Reseller Index" --- # Can your listing or shop policy stop buyers from leaving negative reviews? No: under the Consumer Review Fairness Act (15 U.S.C. 45b), a standard term in your terms of sale that bans or restricts reviews, charges a fee or penalty for them, or takes the buyer's rights in their review is void, and just offering such a term is unlawful. Separately, the FTC's review rule (16 CFR 465.7) bars groundless legal threats, physical threats, intimidation and knowingly false public accusations aimed at preventing or removing a review, though you can still reply publicly, contact the buyer to fix the problem, and remove reviews on your own site that meet narrow criteria applied equally. General information about federal law, not legal advice. This page quotes the rule and the agency's own guidance; it can't tell you whether your business meets them, and state law and marketplace policies can add more. For your own situation, check with a lawyer. Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule and the Consumer Review Fairness Act (16 CFR Part 465; 15 U.S.C. 45b). Checked against the official sources below on Oct 23, 2026. ## The rule, in its own words > “…prohibits or restricts the ability of an individual who is a party to the form contract to engage in a covered communication…” 15 U.S.C. 45b(b)(1)(A). [United States Code, 2024 edition (GPO, govinfo.gov)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45b.htm); United States Code, 2024 edition. > “…imposes a penalty or fee against an individual who is a party to the form contract for engaging in a covered communication…” 15 U.S.C. 45b(b)(1)(B). [United States Code, 2024 edition (GPO, govinfo.gov)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45b.htm); United States Code, 2024 edition. > “It shall be unlawful for a person to offer a form contract containing a provision described as void in subsection (b).” 15 U.S.C. 45b(c). [United States Code, 2024 edition (GPO, govinfo.gov)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45b.htm); United States Code, 2024 edition. > “…use an unfounded or groundless legal threat, a physical threat, intimidation, or a public false accusation in response to a consumer review…” 16 CFR 465.7(a). [eCFR (Office of the Federal Register)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-465); eCFR, up to date as of Oct 21, 2026. ## Shop terms, sorted The CRFA covers "form contracts": standardized terms you use in selling, imposed on the buyer "without a meaningful opportunity for such individual to negotiate the standardized terms" (45b(a)(3)). Listing terms, shop policies and checkout terms fit that description. A "covered communication" is a written, oral or pictorial review or similar analysis, including photos and video (45b(a)(2), (4)). *Terms of sale under 15 U.S.C. 45b(b). "Void" means the term has no effect from the start; offering it is unlawful under 45b(c).* | Term in your listing or policy | Under the CRFA | | --- | --- | | “By purchasing, you agree not to leave negative feedback.” | Void: it prohibits or restricts a review (45b(b)(1)(A)). | | “Buyers who leave negative reviews will be charged a $25 fee.” | Void: it imposes a penalty or fee for a review (45b(b)(1)(B)). | | “All reviews of our items become our property.” | Void: it transfers the buyer's intellectual property in the review; only a non-exclusive license to use it is allowed (45b(b)(1)(C)). | | “Returns accepted only if you haven’t left negative feedback.” | Likely void under (A) or (B): it attaches a cost to leaving a review. | | “If something is wrong, please message us first so we can fix it.” | Not a restriction on its face if it is plainly optional. Don't make anything depend on it. | | “We remove reviews on our own site that contain personal information, vulgarity or content unrelated to the item.” | Allowed: 45b(b)(2)(C) and (b)(3) keep those removal rights for content you host. | The FTC's advice is to remove such terms "even if you’ve never tried to enforce it or have no intention of enforcing it." ## After a bad review: what you can and can't do - **Reply publicly,** and "watch what you say": no false accusation about the reviewer you know is false or make with reckless disregard for the truth (FTC Q&A on 465.7). - **Contact the buyer to fix the problem.** The FTC says the rule doesn't prohibit that, or asking satisfied customers to update their reviews. - **Threaten legal action only with a real basis.** An "unfounded or groundless legal threat" is one based on legal contentions unwarranted by existing law or facts with no evidentiary support (465.1(p)). The CRFA keeps defamation claims intact (45b(b)(2)(B)). - **No intimidation.** The FTC says that includes abusive communications, stalking, character assassination and sexual harassment used to force a review down. - **Paying for removal** of a negative review isn't banned by 465.7, but the FTC says incentives to take down negative reviews could be an unfair practice under the FTC Act. ## If you host reviews on your own site You may not suggest that the reviews you show are most or all of those submitted while you hide reviews because of their ratings or negative sentiment (465.7(b)). Withholding is allowed on criteria applied equally to every review, such as trade secrets, defamatory, harassing, abusive, obscene or discriminatory content, someone else's personal information, content that is clearly false or misleading, reviews you reasonably believe are fake, and reviews wholly unrelated to what you sell. The FTC says sorting reviews, such as most helpful first, isn't suppression under the rule, though it adds that ordering them so negative reviews are hard to find could still violate the FTC Act. ## Edge cases - **Negotiated contracts aren't form contracts.** The CRFA reaches standardized terms imposed without a real chance to negotiate, and excludes employer-employee and independent contractor contracts (45b(a)(3)(B)). - **Clearly false, not just unfair.** The FTC notes it's unlikely that a review you disagree with meets the "clearly false or misleading" standard for removal. - **Marketplace feedback systems** are the marketplace's; the CRFA concerns your own terms with your buyers. - **State law still applies.** The CRFA says nothing in it affects any cause of action a person has under State law (45b(g)), so a state consumer law can add to these limits; check your own state. - **When the CRFA took effect.** December 14, 2016; the void-and-unlawful rules apply to contracts in effect on or after 90 days later (March 14, 2017), and FTC and state enforcement to contracts in effect one year later (45b(i)). - **An FTC example.** On Sep 11, 2023, the FTC announced a settlement with an online shoe retailer it said had suppressed negative reviews on its own site and also broken the Mail Order Rule; the company agreed to pay $1.95 million. ## What to do 1. Search your listing templates, shop policies, about page, packing slips and auto-messages for anything about reviews or feedback. 2. Delete any term that forbids, limits, charges for or claims ownership of reviews, even if you never enforced it. 3. Keep "message us first" wording optional and never tie a refund or return to it. 4. Answer bad reviews with facts about the order, not accusations about the buyer. 5. If you host reviews, write down your removal criteria and apply them the same way to positive and negative reviews. ## Penalties, as the agency states them The FTC states the consequences of each law this way: > “This means that your company could be subject to financial penalties, as well as a federal court order.” FTC, Consumer Review Fairness Act: What Businesses Need to Know. [Federal Trade Commission](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-review-fairness-act-what-businesses-need-know); February 2017. > “Rule violations can result in the filing of a federal lawsuit or other legal action, and civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.” FTC press release on the Consumer Review Rule, Dec 22, 2025. [Federal Trade Commission](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-warns-10-companies-about-possible-violations-agencys-new-consumer-review-rule); Dec 22, 2025. ## Questions ### Can I ask buyers to contact me before leaving negative feedback? You can ask, as long as it is a request and nothing depends on it. A term that prohibits, restricts or penalizes a review is void under 15 U.S.C. 45b(b)(1). ### Can I sue a buyer over a review? The CRFA doesn't affect claims for defamation, libel or slander (45b(b)(2)(B)), and the FTC rule allows legal threats that have a legitimate basis. A groundless threat to get a review removed violates 465.7(a). Talk to a lawyer before threatening anything. ### Does the CRFA apply to reviews of my customer service? Yes. The FTC says it covers consumer evaluations of a company's customer service, not just its products. ## Related questions - [Can you give buyers a discount or freebie for a review?](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/ftc-review-rule-incentives/) Not for a positive one. An incentive for any honest review isn't banned by the rule, but disclose it; “5 stars for 10% off” is exactly what 16 CFR 465.4 forbids. - [Does CAN-SPAM apply when you email your buyers?](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/can-spam-emailing-buyers/) Order and shipping emails are transactional. Anything whose main purpose is selling needs an ad notice, a postal address and an opt-out honored within 10 business days. - [Can you sell used items "as is"? What federal warranty law says](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/magnuson-moss-as-is-used-goods/) Usually, under state law. But a written warranty such as “guaranteed to work for 30 days” means you can't disclaim implied warranties on that item. [All 14 federal rule questions for online resellers](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/) ## Sources Every rule, number and date on this page comes from these official pages, each read on Oct 23, 2026; quotes are copied word for word. General information, not legal advice. - [15 U.S.C. 45b: Consumer Review Fairness Act (consumer review protection)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap2-subchapI-sec45b.htm) (United States Code, 2024 edition (GPO, govinfo.gov); United States Code, 2024 edition) - [16 CFR Part 465: Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-465) (eCFR (Office of the Federal Register); eCFR, up to date as of Oct 21, 2026) - [FTC: Consumer Review Fairness Act: What Businesses Need to Know](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-review-fairness-act-what-businesses-need-know) (Federal Trade Commission; February 2017) - [FTC press release: FTC warns 10 companies about possible violations of the Consumer Review Rule](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-warns-10-companies-about-possible-violations-agencys-new-consumer-review-rule) (Federal Trade Commission; Dec 22, 2025) - [FTC: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers) (Federal Trade Commission; November 2024) - [FTC press release: settlement with an online shoe retailer over suppressed negative reviews and Mail Order Rule violations](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/online-shoe-seller-hey-dude-inc-pay-195-million-violating-ftcs-mail-internet-telephone-order-rule) (Federal Trade Commission; Sep 11, 2023) Subscribe: https://resellerindex.com/subscribe/ Want these numbers next to your own sales? 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