I know this is not about GD but it might be worth sharing with GD site owners especially if your business model is somewhat focused on reviews and ratings.
Small businesses suing Yelp didn’t get the kind of review they were hoping for from a federal appeals court.
The businesses alleged the San Francisco company manipulated their ratings on Yelp to extort them to buy ads.
Yelp denies advertisers get more favorable treatment on its popular review service. It says its software that filters reviews to determine ratings does not distinguish between those who advertise and those who don’t.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled this week that it doesn’t matter anyway.
The plaintiffs did not prove that Yelp broke any laws, the court ruled. Even if Yelp does manipulate reviews, it does not constitute extortion, it said.
Read more here:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/09/04/yelp-ruling/15075131/
My question to fellow GD site owners is how do you protect all parties including yourself from costly litigation? Do you have a Terms of Use statement template you can share?
I think there are lawyers here. What’s your take on this?