PSA: CA businesses.... trying to ban reviews will net you a $2,500 fine.

[eustacetilley]

Racer X wrote:
in the old days, when journalism had standards and ethics, it was called "SLANDER"

Well, technically...

"Linda L. Edwards, J. Stanley Edwards, Patricia Kirtley Wells, Tort Law for Legal Assistants, Cengage Learning, 2008, p. 390. "Libel refers to written defamatory statements; slander refers to oral statements. Libel encompasses communications occurring in 'physical form'... defamatory statements on records and computer tapes are considered libel rather than slander.""
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation#cite_note-2

This is a General rule, and the distinction is not always made.

Also, technically, the truth or falsity of the statements are not an issue in some jurisdictions.

Eustace