The new rules also apply to ungrounded legal, physical threats, and other forms of intimidation to suppress negative customer reviews.

Be warned, online merchants who see no issue in publishing phony reviews from made-up customers: that practice is no longer allowed. A federal ban on fake online reviews has taken effect. The Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule on the purchase and sale of online reviews back in August and it came into force 60 days after it was published in the Federal Register.

Buying reviews, using AI-generated testimonials, and suppressing negative feedback are among the practices the FTC now considers prohibited.