Bill would protect Yelp comments

A handful of House Democrats introduced a bill to protect people who write reviews on Yelp or similar online review websites. The Consumer Review Freedom Act would prohibit companies from including clauses in their contracts that prevented people from writing critical reviews about them online, a tactic that some businesses have used to avoid online negative publicity. “No country that values free speech would allow customers to be penalized for writing an honest review,” said Rep Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who wrote the bill along with Rep Brad Sherman (D-CA). “I introduced this legislation to put a stop to this egregious behavior so people can share honest reviews without fear of litigation.” Reps Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) are co-sponsoring the bill.