FTC Continues To Focus On Incentivized Reviews

Last week, we wrote about the FTC's first case involving a company's failure to post negative reviews. Just a few days later, the FTC reached a $3.5 million settlement with Hubble Contacts. Although much of the FTC's complaint in the Hubble case alleges violations of the Contact Lens Rule, the FTC also alleged that Hubble engaged in misleading practices related to consumers reviews. The latter should catch your eye, even if you don't work in the vision industry.

According to the complaint, Hubble ran a number campaigns designed to increase positive reviews on various websites. For example, in 2017, Hubble contacted certain customers and offered them a free month's supply of lenses in exchange for writing a review on the HighYa website. The next year, Hubble ran a similar campaign to increase positive reviews on a BBB website. To make matters worse, one of the positive reviews on that site was written by the company's Director of Customer Experience.