Do you think this opens me up to libel suits?

[MrsMagoo]

I'm creating a site to collect user-generated reviews of people who perform various services (aka vendors). The questions asked will be quite directed, asking for users' opinions of the vendors they hired skill at activity X or success at performing function Y. Can anyone (lawyerly or not) comment on whether asking questions this way opens me up to libel suits? I know libel is defined, grossly, as putting in print something defamatory that can be proven false. So is hosting reviews of people rating John Doe at, say, 1 out of 10 at okay? My site has all the necessary disclaimers about the reviews being the opinoin of the member, not my site. My TOS and Reviewer Guides all say not to defame or include false info.

[Demaestro]

I would say that if you outline and have users agree that they can't be abusive and that the stories they tell are true.

Then make sure you are diligent in your moderating, removing anything that is a tirade and abusive and allowing things that recount what sounds like a fact based story of their experiences.

Try to encourage positive reviews as well as negative to avoid becoming a place for rants.

Also do your best to group all reviews that are specific to one vendor.... ie all comments about Example company in one place and all comments about Widget Company in another.

You should be fine and remember liable can only be brought against the person who makes it not the place they make it. Just be diligent about modding the whole thing and show that you mod and that should protect you.

[jtara]

There is already quite a large site that does the same thing you are planning. I hear ads for them on the radio all the time.

You might want to do a news search to see if they have been involved in lawsuits, and also take a look at the site, to see what legal disclaimers, etc. they have.

I do know there has been some litigation involving dental practice review sites.

There's a Wikipedia article on the site I have in mind - not sure if I'll be allowed to link to it, but I'll give it a shot. It talks about some of the site's users being sued for millions of dollars in damages. There are references cited in the Wikipedia article:

[en.wikipedia.org...]

Are you sure you want to expose your users to this kind of liability?

Here's a link, as well, to the Washington Post article mentioned in the Wikipedia article:

[washingtonpost.com...]

[weeks]

Take a look at angieslist.com. They do something very similar. Their terms of service should be helpful.

Do unto others as you would have them to unto you and you should be fine.

[MrsMagoo]

Thanks very mucyh for all the very useful replies, which sent me in several directions in my research. It turns out that the jury is, literally, out on what kinds of immunity website operators have from tort liability when creating reviews. This Law Letter on this link
[broadcastlawblog.com...] goes into great detail about how Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is being interpreted by various levels of courts around the country.

Also, the Angie's List case was apparently dropped.
[renocheck.com...]

[Demaestro]

I think the Angie's list was different because the site actually sponsored what the reviewers say.

I think with a good disclaimer you are fine.

***********
"The opinions expressed on "site_name" are solely that of the authors themselves, "site_name" does not share nor endorse any of the view points expressed on "site_name"

We will immediately act on any slanderous or untrue statements CLICK HERE TO REPORT A POST
***********

With that in place I wouldn't worry about it... but that is me... if you have a large liability then seek legal advise as only a lawyer can give you proper council in this matter.

If you are a little guy with swallow pockets don't worry. They almost only ever pursue the deep pockets because most work on a percentage based on award judgments. If you can't pay it isn't worth it to them

[edited by: Demaestro at 8:30 pm (utc) on Nov. 2, 2007]

[Rosalind]

I think when you get user-contributed reviews it's always going to be a magnet for libellous comments and disgruntled companies who want those comments removed by any means necessary. You need to tread carefully, because whilst a good writer will understand libel, the general public do not.

Also be aware that you will need to do something to ensure that the ratings aren't coming from suspect sources. What checks will you have in place to ensure that someone won't sign up with multiple accounts in order to discredit a business rival, for instance?