Google notice of content restriction
• 260 words • 2 min
From: removals@google.com
To: me
Subject: Google notice of content restriction
Hello,
Your review isn’t posted.
What happened
We received a complaint that your review is defamatory under German law. Your review is removed for now, because German courts have set a low threshold for businesses to challenge reviews as defamatory. For example, businesses can simply claim that they cannot verify that you were a customer (for example, they have no record of a transaction) and unless there is evidence to the contrary, courts may order platforms to remove the review. To show that you were a customer and reinstate your review, use the appeals option below under “What you can do next”.
Affected URL(s): {redacted}
Thiago ★ {1 star}
What you can do next
If you think your content should be re-published, we invite you to contest this removal decision by providing us with evidence of your interaction with this business at this link:
In case you’re curious, it was a blank review. I did not write any text at all.
In other words, a 1-star review without any commentary is apparently deemed defamatory. What a great system.
This has happened more than once.
I can no longer recommend Google Maps as a reliable source for unbiased reviews.
It is certainly a reliable proxy for popularity, but that’s all.
Some businesses take advantage of the situation to attempt to take down bad reviews, and they’re often successful while at it. Therefore you cannot trust the leftover glamourous reviews.
I stopped using Yelp many years ago for the same reason. ∎