How the FTC’s Consumer Reviews Rule Applies to Brand Practices

Introduction

In August 2024, the Federal Trade Commission finalized 16 CFR Part 465, the Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule. Rather than inventing new standards, the rule formalizes how the FTC already evaluates deceptive review and endorsement practices.

The rule targets conduct that distorts how consumers understand reviews and influencer endorsements. It also gives the FTC clearer authority to seek civil penalties when those practices occur.

For brands, the impact is less about new obligations and more about higher expectations around consistency, transparency, and proof.

Why the Rule Exists

Over the past decade, reviews and influencer endorsements became core drivers of consumer decisions. They also became easier to manipulate.

Enforcement actions showed recurring patterns:

• Reviews written by insiders without disclosure
• Negative reviews hidden or delayed
• Incentives tied to endorsements without transparency
• Reviews reused across unrelated products

The new rule consolidates these issues into a single framework that focuses on how review and endorsement systems operate in practice.

What the Rule Prohibits

Fake and Insider Reviews

Reviews must reflect genuine consumer experience. Reviews written by employees, contractors, family members, or others with a relationship to the brand must be disclosed clearly.

Creating or distributing reviews that do not represent real experience is prohibited, regardless of whether they appear authentic.

Review Suppression

Brands may moderate reviews, but they cannot selectively suppress negative feedback to create a misleading impression.

Moderation policies must be applied evenly. Removing profanity or irrelevant content is permitted. Filtering based on sentiment is not.

Review Hijacking

Reviews must stay attached to the product or service they describe.

Transferring positive reviews from one product to another, even within the same brand, can mislead consumers about performance or quality.

Influencer Endorsements

When a material connection exists, disclosure is required. The rule reinforces that disclosures must be noticeable and understandable in context.

Disclosures that are technically present but functionally hidden do not meet the standard.

AI and Scaled Deception

The rule anticipates the use of generative AI in reviews and endorsements. Automation does not change responsibility.

Brands remain accountable for ensuring that reviews and testimonials reflect real experience and that AI tools are not used to fabricate or misrepresent consumer sentiment.

Enforcement Reality

Civil penalties may apply when violations are proven, but enforcement typically focuses on patterns, not single posts.

The FTC and the National Advertising Division often examine:

• Whether policies exist
• Whether they are applied consistently
• Whether records can show what happened when questions arise

Documentation and process increasingly determine how quickly scrutiny escalates or resolves.

What This Means for Brands

Compliance under the Consumer Reviews Rule is operational.

Brands that rely on informal workflows, inconsistent moderation, or retroactive reconstruction face higher risk. Brands that define rules clearly, apply them consistently, and preserve records are better positioned when challenged.

The rule raises the cost of being unable to explain how reviews and endorsements were managed.

Closing Perspective

The Consumer Reviews Rule does not ban reviews, influencers, or incentives. It clarifies how trust is evaluated when those tools influence consumer decisions. Transparency is no longer just a messaging choice. It is a system-level requirement.

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