Google Reviews Rules: What Google’s Policy and US Law Actually Allow

Reviews can make or break a local business. That’s exactly why both Google and US regulators have tightened the rules. Since October 21, 2024, a Federal Trade Commission rule makes several review practices that were once common in marketing explicitly illegal, and Google now restricts profiles caught with fake engagement.

This guide explains the Google reviews rules every US business owner should know: how you can ask for reviews, what you must never do, how to handle fake or extortion reviews, and what healthcare providers need to remember about HIPAA.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Talk to your attorney about your specific situation.

The two rulebooks: Google’s policy and federal law

Two sets of rules apply to your Google reviews at the same time:

1. Google’s Maps user-generated content policy, which decides what stays on your profile and what can get your profile restricted.
2. US law, mainly the FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465), effective October 21, 2024, and the Consumer Review Fairness Act. Some states have their own consumer protection laws too.

Breaking Google’s policy can cost you your reviews. Breaking the FTC rule can cost you money. Knowing violations of an FTC rule can bring civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. That maximum was set in January 2025, and the FTC announced that it would keep the 2025 amounts unchanged for 2026.

What the FTC’s fake review rule prohibits

The final rule targets these practices:

• Fake reviews and testimonials: creating, buying or selling reviews that misrepresent who wrote them or their experience, including AI-generated fake reviews.
• Buying reviews tied to sentiment: offering compensation or incentives in exchange for positive (or negative) reviews.
• Undisclosed insider reviews: reviews by owners, officers, managers, employees or agents without clear disclosure of the relationship.
• Company-controlled “independent” review sites: a website that claims to provide independent reviews of your own products or services.
• Review suppression: using unfounded legal threats, physical threats or intimidation to prevent or remove negative reviews, or claiming that the reviews you display represent all or most reviews when negative ones are being hidden.
• Fake social media indicators: buying or selling fake followers or views.

What Google’s review policy prohibits

Google’s policy goes further than the law on some points. In its Maps content policy, Google prohibits businesses from:

• Offering incentives (payment, discounts, free goods or services) in exchange for reviews, or for changing or removing a negative review. Unlike the FTC rule, Google bans incentives even if you don’t ask for a positive review.
• Review gating: Google says businesses must not discourage negative reviews or ask only happy customers for reviews. A survey that only sends happy customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private form breaks this rule.
• Conflicts of interest: reviews from current or former employees, or from you about your competitors.
• Content that doesn’t reflect a genuine experience.

What happens if Google detects fake reviews

Google says it may remove the violating reviews and restrict the profile. Restrictions can include a warning shown to consumers that fake reviews were removed, a period during which the profile can’t receive new reviews, and existing reviews being unpublished for a set period. Owners receive an email before the restriction and can appeal. A restriction is different from a suspension, which removes the whole profile from view (see our guide to a suspended Google Business Profile).

How to ask for reviews the right way

Everything above still leaves plenty of room to grow your reviews legitimately:

• Ask every customer, not just the happy ones, ideally right after the job or visit.
• Make it easy: a direct review link, a text message after the appointment, a card at checkout or a QR code on the counter. Our free Google review QR code generator creates one in seconds.
• Don’t offer anything in exchange: no discount, gift card or raffle entry tied to a Google review.
• Don’t let staff review the business, even if they were also customers.
• Train your team on what to say: “Would you mind sharing your experience on Google?” is fine; “Please give us five stars” is not.

Negative reviews: what you can and cannot do

Contracts can’t ban honest reviews

The Consumer Review Fairness Act makes it illegal to use form contracts that restrict customers from reviewing you, penalize them for doing so, or require them to give up the intellectual property rights in their review. “Non-disparagement” clauses in standard service agreements are a red flag. Have your attorney review your terms of service.

Reporting reviews that break the rules

Google only removes reviews that violate its policies. It asks owners not to report a review simply because they disagree with it. Reviews that are spam, off-topic, conflicts of interest, harassment or hate speech can be reported from your profile or through the Reviews Management Tool. There you can track the status of each report and submit a one-time appeal. Google says evaluation typically takes several days.

Responding publicly

A calm, factual reply helps future customers more than the original reviewer. Thank the person, stick to facts, avoid private details and offer to continue the conversation offline. Avoid legal threats in a reply: unfounded threats can count as review suppression under the FTC rule.

Review extortion: what to do

A scam that has spread in the US: a sudden wave of one- and two-star reviews, followed by a message demanding money, gift cards or services to stop or remove them. Google treats this as a serious policy violation and offers a dedicated merchant extortion report form.

Google’s advice:

• Don’t engage with or pay the extortionists. Paying encourages more attempts and doesn’t guarantee removal.
• Collect evidence: screenshots of every demand (with dates, times, sender details), links to the suspicious reviews, usernames, emails and phone numbers.
• Submit the extortion report form with that evidence. Google investigates and notifies you of the outcome.

Healthcare providers: HIPAA and online reviews

Doctors, dentists, therapists and other HIPAA-covered providers face an extra rule: a reply to a review must not disclose protected health information, even if the patient already shared details publicly. Confirming that someone is your patient can itself be a disclosure.

The risk is real. In 2023, the HHS Office for Civil Rights announced a $30,000 settlement with Manasa Health Center, a New Jersey psychiatric practice that disclosed a patient’s protected health information in response to a negative online review. The provider also agreed to a corrective action plan.

Safe practices for clinics:

• Use a generic reply: “We take all feedback seriously. Because of privacy laws, we can’t discuss any individual’s care online. Please call our office manager at your convenience.”
• Never confirm or deny that the reviewer is a patient.
• Don’t use patient reviews or photos in your marketing without a valid written authorization.
• Write a review-response policy and train every staff member who has access to your profile.

Google reviews rules: your compliance checklist

• No paid, incentivized or employee reviews
• Review requests sent to all customers (no gating)
• No non-disparagement clauses in customer contracts
• Website testimonials are real, current and not cherry-picked to mislead
• A response policy (and HIPAA training for healthcare)
• An extortion procedure: document, report, don’t pay

Get more reviews, the compliant way

Référenceur helps US businesses build review programs that follow Google’s policy and FTC rules, then turns those reviews into more calls through local SEO. Contact us for a free review audit.

FAQ

Is it legal to offer a discount for a Google review?

Google’s policy prohibits any incentive in exchange for a review, positive or not. The FTC rule also bans incentives conditioned on a positive or negative review. Don’t offer anything in exchange for Google reviews.

What is review gating, and why is it banned?

Review gating means asking customers how they feel first, then sending only happy customers to Google. Google prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews. Send the same review request to every customer instead.

Can I get a negative Google review removed?

Only if it violates Google’s policies, such as spam, conflicts of interest, harassment or off-topic content. Report it from your profile or through the Reviews Management Tool. Google won’t remove a review just because it’s negative.

What should I do if someone demands money to remove fake reviews?

Don’t pay or engage. Save screenshots of every demand and submit Google’s merchant extortion report form with links to the suspicious reviews.

Can a doctor or dentist respond to a negative review?

Yes, but without disclosing any protected health information or confirming the person is a patient. HHS has fined providers whose review replies disclosed patient information.

Want a review program that grows your reputation without legal risk? Contact Référenceur for a free review audit.