In certain cases, Verified Reviews will not be able to accept your report, and therefore your request to refuse publication.
This choice is neither arbitrary nor a lack of consideration for your situation: it responds to legal, regulatory, and consumer trust issues.
The moderation rules for reviews follow a precise framework, defined by:
- French and European legal obligations
- Current standards, in particular the NF ISO 20488 standard (AFNOR)
- Principles of transparency and fairness towards consumers
These rules apply in the same way to all companies, without exception.
Why refusing a review is not always possible
Massively or unjustly refusing to publish reviews would expose both Verified Reviews and your organization to several risks:
Legal and regulatory risks
- DGCCRF inspections: regular audits are conducted to detect unfair commercial practices or misleading information. These inspections may concern both Verified Reviews and your company.
- Non-compliance with current laws, in France as well as at the European level, particularly regarding the collection and publication of consumer reviews.
A credibility issue with consumers
Exclusively positive reviews may arouse suspicion: consumers trust a brand more when it displays varied and authentic feedback - Learn more.
A negative review is not necessarily a problem: your response, your attitude, and your responsiveness often have more impact on your brand's perception than the review itself.
5 tips for responding effectively to negative reviews.
A reputation risk for your brand
Moderation perceived as excessive can give the impression of a lack of transparency! This can create frustration among consumers and harm the trust relationship with your brand.
A decision that depends on the reason for flagging
The possibility of refusing the publication of a review directly depends on the reason for flagging selected and its actual relevance to the content of the review.
When reporting, you must choose a specific reason (illegal content, inappropriate remarks, unverified experience, etc.). Our teams can only refuse to publish a review if the comment strictly matches the stated reason, in accordance with moderation rules and the applicable standard.
If no reason applies or if the content of the review does not correspond to the selected reason, the review cannot be refused.
To learn more about the different reasons and their application cases, you can consult the dedicated article.