Hosting product reviews on your forum? What the FTC review rule means for moderators
Gear forums, hobby boards and niche communities often have review sections, and some take sponsorships. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) changes what's safe for both businesses and the sites that host them.
- Businesses can't create, sell or buy fake reviews or reviews from people who didn't use the product.
- Hiding negative reviews while implying you show most or all of them is banned. Neutral moderation rules applied equally are allowed.
- Officers and managers must disclose their connection when they review their own company's products.
- Buying or selling fake followers or views for commercial purposes is banned.
Moderation is allowed; sentiment filtering isn't
16 CFR 465.7, review suppression targets businesses that "materially misrepresent" that the reviews shown "represent most or all the reviews submitted" when reviews are suppressed "based upon their ratings or their negative sentiment." The rule says that isn't suppression when you withhold reviews under criteria "applied equally to all reviews," such as content that is defamatory, harassing, abusive, obscene, discriminatory, contains someone else's personal information or trade secrets, or is clearly false or misleading.
So a clear, sentiment-neutral review policy is your friend. If a sponsor asks you to remove a one-star review that follows your rules, that's a red flag.
Fake and insider reviews
16 CFR 465.2, fake or false reviews bars businesses from writing, creating or selling reviews that misrepresent that the reviewer exists or used the product. 16 CFR 465.5, insider reviews requires officers and managers who review their own company's products to clearly disclose the relationship. Hosting reviews alone isn't what the insider section targets; the rule expressly excludes "Merely engaging in consumer review hosting" from one of its testimonial provisions.
Legal threats against reviewers
The rule also bans using "an unfounded or groundless legal threat, a physical threat, intimidation, or a public false accusation" to prevent or remove a review. Keep records if a business pressures your members.
Fake influence
16 CFR 465.8, fake indicators of social media influence bans selling, distributing, buying or procuring fake indicators of social media influence, like fake followers or views, that the person knew or should have known were fake, for a commercial purpose.
Forum policy checklist
- Publish a review policy listing the content you remove, regardless of rating.
- Require staff, vendors and sponsors to disclose their ties in review threads.
- Label sponsored posts.
- Link the policy from your moderation guide.
General information for forum owners, not legal advice. Check the current law and talk to a lawyer about your community.
Published October 30, 2026. We do not use affiliate links on this page; see our Affiliate Disclosure.