Maryland Considers Bill Banning Vendor Clauses That Gag Online Reviews
A recently introduced Maryland House of Delegates bill would forbid vendors from putting in gag clauses that prevent customers from posting online reviews of products and services, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a blog post Wednesday. EFF submitted written…
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testimony supporting the bill (HB-131), which was modeled after a 2014 California law, but said it could be improved in two ways. "We noted that the bill only applies to 'goods or services that are primarily for personal, household, or family purposes' -- we’re not sure why the drafters chose to limit its scope that way," activist Elliot Harmon wrote. He said some vendors may also claim to own the intellectual property rights of customers' future reviews and try to delete negative reviews by filing a "takedown request" under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. He said the U.S. Senate's Consumer Review Freedom Act, which was approved in December, bans both practices (see 1601150066).