By Kay3131
on Aug 01, 2014  

I'm all for free speech so long as each opinion gets equal weight & exposure. But being able to use Google Seaches as a way to make one opinion more prominent and impactful than all the others - destroys fairness and proportion. It also opens up the potential to 'run a new business outta town' if competitors band together. I think in this case, the French court did the right thing.

By mamalueh
on Aug 01, 2014  

Isn't the whole point of a review to tell others what to expect? I certainly don't want to go to a lousy restaurant just because people are only allowed to leave positive reviews. The only thing not mentioned is: was the review written in a rude and nasty tone (not cool) or was it constructive criticism? Who knows, maybe the reviewer cursed and slandered the restaurant unfairly. But to be fined for that? They should have just removed the review!

By BramblyHedge
on Aug 01, 2014  

As long as the review was an accurate description, and reflected the experience truthfully I think it should be okay to leave the review. If it was based only on how well a waiter/waitress treated you that one time, then no, don't leave a bad review for the restaurant.

By Tannersmom
on Aug 01, 2014  

Now the restaurant is going to get more bad reviews and less customers when many people read about the fine imposed.

By Tkh257
on Aug 03, 2014  

The whole reason for a review is to express how you felt about it. Everyone is going to have a different review.