Congressman Fights to Protect Yelpers
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is proposing legislation that would protect amateur reviewers nationwide from legal or financial retaliation.
Swalwell’s bill was inspired by what happened to a couple in Utah after they posted a bad review, according to The National Journal. The two were said to have been fined $3,500 for “unwittingly violating a retailer’s terms-of-sale contract.”
The bill is similar to a new Yelp law in California that fines restaurants and other businesses that write “disparagement clauses” into their terms of service contracts, allowing them to charge reviewers with fees.
“It’s un-American for any consumer to be penalized for writing an honest review,” Swalwell says.
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