The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, in force since October 21, 2024, bans reviews by people who do not exist or never used the product - AI-written ones included; staff, managers, agents or their families reviewing without saying so; paying or giving something for a review on condition it is positive (or negative about a rival); and suppressing negative reviews - by threats, or by hiding them while the page implies it shows them all. A review may be taken down only for reasons the rule allows - unlawful, harassing, abusive, obscene, discriminatory, unrelated to the product, a trade secret, or clearly false - applied the same way whatever its stars. Each violation can cost about $51,744.

The rule also bans buying fake social indicators - followers, views or likes from bots, fake accounts or hijacked ones - to make a store or a creator look more popular than they are. A promotion that reaches real people is not that. Record every paid push and what it bought.