“If You See Something, Say Something®”[1]

Anyone travelled recently?

 

I’ll bet you’ve heard “If you see something, say something,®” blaring over the loudspeakers at the airport?  Why?  What are they saying and why are they saying it?

 

According to the Department of Homeland Security, “If You See Something, Say Something®” is a national campaign that raises public awareness of the signs of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, and how to report suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement.

 

We all play a role in keeping our communities safe. It’s easy to be distracted during our daily routines such as going to work, school, or the grocery store, but as you’re going about your day, if you see something that doesn’t seem quite right, say something.”[2]

 

The government and their regulatory agencies are here to protect us from the bad guys.

 

Speaking of bad guys, how do you limit or punish business’ use of false and misleading reviews on the internet?

 

Another agency, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just created new rules to help level the playing field for those businesses who are doing it fairly and correctly. These rules might require big changes at your dealership.

 

According to The Wall Street Journal, the new rule “prohibits practices including providing incentives for reviews that convey a particular sentiment; reviews and testimonials by company insiders that don’t disclose the authors’ connection to the brand; suppressing unflattering reviews; and reviews and testimonials attributed to people who haven’t used the product or aren’t real.”[3]

 

The FTC can fine a business $51,744 per violation. And that number goes up in 2025.

 

“The rule prohibits buying fake indicators of social media influence, such as followers or views made by a bot or hijacked account, to inflate the importance of a brand or product for commercial purposes.”[4]

 

Also, “businesses can’t use groundless legal threats, physical threats or intimidation to prevent or remove negative consumer reviews.”[5]

 

“Marketers can still be challenged for some forbidden practices even if they only “should have known” of such activity.”[6]

 

Knew or should have known is a standard which both dealers and businesses should understand as a paradigm from which to operate.  If any business practice is deceptive, and your store is promoting those type of policies, you may or may not get caught.

 

If you do, you will be held responsible for those actions by your employees.  If you say you “didn’t know” it was happening, then the attorney or regulator will proffer that you “should have known.”  I guarantee it.

 

“Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “By strengthening the FTC’s toolkit to fight deceptive advertising, the final rule will protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive.”[7]

 

“The final rule prohibits:

 

  • Fake or False Consumer Reviews, Consumer Testimonials, and Celebrity Testimonials: The final rule addresses reviews and testimonials that misrepresent that they are by someone who does not exist, such as AI-generated fake reviews, or who did not have actual experience with the business or its products or services, or that misrepresent the experience of the person giving it. It prohibits businesses from creating or selling such reviews or testimonials. It also prohibits them from buying such reviews, procuring them from company insiders, or disseminating such testimonials, when the business knew or should have known that the reviews or testimonials were fake or false.

 

  • Buying Positive or Negative Reviews: The final rule prohibits businesses from providing compensation or other incentives conditioned on the writing of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment, either positive or negative. It clarifies that the conditional nature of the offer of compensation or incentive may be expressly or implicitly conveyed.

 

  • Insider Reviews and Consumer Testimonials: The final rule prohibits certain reviews and testimonials written by company insiders that fail to clearly and conspicuously disclose the giver’s material connection to the business. It prohibits such reviews and testimonials given by officers or managers. It also prohibits a business from disseminating such a testimonial that the business should have known was by an officer, manager, employee, or agent. Finally, it imposes requirements when officers or managers solicit consumer reviews from their own immediate relatives or from employees or agents – or when they tell employees or agents to solicit reviews from relatives and such solicitations result in reviews by immediate relatives of the employees or agents.

 

  • Company-Controlled Review Websites: The final rule prohibits a business from misrepresenting that a website or entity it controls provides independent reviews or opinions about a category of products or services that includes its own products or services.

 

  • Review Suppression: The final rule prohibits a business from using unfounded or groundless legal threats, physical threats, intimidation, or certain false public accusations to prevent or remove a negative consumer review. The final rule also bars a business from misrepresenting that the reviews on a review portion of its website represent all or most of the reviews submitted when reviews have been suppressed based upon their ratings or negative sentiment.

 

  • Misuse of Fake Social Media Indicators: The final rule prohibits anyone from selling or buying fake indicators of social media influence, such as followers or views generated by a bot or hijacked account. This prohibition is limited to situations in which the buyer knew or should have known that the indicators were fake and misrepresent the buyer’s influence or importance for a commercial purpose.”[8]

 

According to the release, “This rule will enhance deterrence and strengthen FTC enforcement actions.”[9]

 

The rule was approved by all five (5) commissioners and will become effective October 21, 2024.

 

I find it interesting the slogan “If you see something, say something,®” was originally implemented and trademarked by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.  In July, 2010, the New York MTA granted a license to the Department of Homeland Security to utilize the phrase.

 

The trademarked slogan is meant to raise awareness about suspicious activities.  Here, the FTC wants to raise awareness about its concerns about “fakery” and suspicious activities online.  If the FTC sees (or hears) something unsavory happening at your dealership, rest assured, they will say something.  That conversation could be very costly.  So, within your operations, if you see something, you should consider it a best practice to say something right now and fix it!  If you didn’t know about it, they will say you should have known.

 

 

 

 

[1] This is a trademark of the Department of Homeland Security.

[2] https://www.dhs.gov/see-something-say-something

[3] The Wall Street Journal, “New FTC Rule Targets Online Review Fakery,” by Megan Graham, Friday, August 30, 2024.

[4] The Wall Street Journal, “New FTC Rule Targets Online Review Fakery,” by Megan Graham, Friday, August 30, 2024.

[5] The Wall Street Journal, “New FTC Rule Targets Online Review Fakery,” by Megan Graham, Friday, August 30, 2024.

[6] The Wall Street Journal, “New FTC Rule Targets Online Review Fakery,” by Megan Graham, Friday, August 30, 2024.

[7] Federal Trade Commission Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials, Press Release, August 14, 2024

[8] Federal Trade Commission Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials, Press Release, August 14, 2024

[9] Federal Trade Commission Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials, Press Release, August 14, 2024