Platform rules and the law
Is buying Google or Trustpilot reviews legal?
Last updated by The PanelCompare editorial team
Why are reviews worse than followers?
Because a fake review is a statement of fact about a product made to a consumer, which is squarely inside consumer-protection law rather than at its edge. The FTC rule covers creating, buying, selling and disseminating fake or false reviews and testimonials, with civil penalty authority for knowing violations (16 CFR Part 465, checked 2026-09-11). The UK and EU regimes reach the same conduct, and the review platforms themselves bring private actions against sellers.
The panel-side pricing gives away how the market values the risk: reviews are listed per 1,000 but sold per review, appearing as $2,000–$10,000 per 1,000 because they are $2–$10 each — three orders of magnitude above ordinary engagement (PanelCompare domain research, 2026-09-06).
What about review removal and negative reviews?
Negative-review and removal services are a separate, worse category
Live panels sell negative reviews at $3–$12 each and negative-review removal at around $1.20 per review, alongside mass-reporting and downvote products aimed at named businesses and individuals (PanelCompare domain research, 2026-09-06). These are tortious in most jurisdictions as well as prohibited, and several target private individuals. PanelCompare will not list or monetise any of them at any price.
Think this answer is wrong?
Prices, refill terms and platform policies in this market all move, so an answer that was right in September may not be right in December. Every figure above names its source and the date it was checked; if one of them is stale or wrong, the correction process on the about page has a two-working-day reply target, and corrections are published with a dated note rather than quietly patched.