Negative reviews on Google or other platforms can directly affect your reputation and revenue. Almost every business encounters them sooner or later. Online reviews are an established part of doing business: they influence purchasing decisions and help determine potential customers’ confidence.
But what if a review is factually incorrect or fake? When can you have a negative review removed, and what can you do if Google will not cooperate?
This blog sets out the legal framework and practical options.
Reviews are part of modern business
The internet allows consumers to assess businesses publicly. This serves an important function. Businesses offering quality and good service are rewarded with positive reviews; those that fall short receive criticism.
That openness is valuable but has a downside. Causing reputational damage online is easy. One negative review can sow doubt among potential customers. This does not, however, mean that every negative review is unlawful.
When is a negative review unlawful?
When assessing negative reviews, the court balances:
- The reviewer’s freedom of expression
- The business’s right to protection of its reputation
In principle, neither right takes precedence. The threshold for removal is therefore relatively high.
Two particularly important criteria emerge from case law.
1. Factual inaccuracy
A reviewer may express an opinion in robust terms. Exaggeration or sharp criticism generally falls within freedom of expression.
The position changes where:
- Facts are demonstrably incorrect.
- Events have been invented.
- The reviewer has never been a customer.
- Criminal conduct is suggested without a factual basis.
The further a review departs from reality, the greater the likelihood that it is unlawful.
2. Needlessly insulting or offensive statements
An angry customer may express frustration as part of public debate. However, serious accusations, abuse or unfounded allegations can cross the line.
The more inaccurate and offensive the review, the more likely it is to require removal.
Recent case law: freedom of expression carries substantial weight
In interim relief proceedings on 7 January 2026, a car dealer sought an order requiring Google to remove four negative reviews.
The interim relief judge dismissed the claims, and the reviews remained online.
The court held, among other things, that:
- A dispute about an imported car’s mileage does not automatically make a critical review unlawful.
- A brief negative comment without explanation may lack substance but does not immediately amount to reputational damage.
- Nuanced criticism based on personal experience is generally permissible.
- Sharp assessments of expertise or business practices may fall within freedom of expression.
The judgment illustrates judicial reluctance to order removal of negative reviews unless they are clearly unlawful.
Fake and false Google reviews
False Google reviews pose a particular problem. These are reviews that:
- Come from people who have never been customers.
- Deliberately contain incorrect information.
- Have been posted to cause reputational harm.
For many businesses, it is frustrating that removing a Google review is considerably harder than posting one.
You can submit a removal request to Google. In practice, however, a standard response often follows and the review remains. Google takes a cautious approach because of the platform’s public function and the protection of freedom of expression.
What can you do if Google will not cooperate?
Legal options are available where a review is clearly inaccurate and harmful and Google will not remove it voluntarily.
A formal demand to Google
A first step may be a formal demand sent by a lawyer, explaining why the review is unlawful and requiring its removal.
This is particularly promising where there are clear factual inaccuracies or serious allegations without any foundation.
Disclosure of identifying information and IP addresses
In some cases, identifying the reviewer is necessary. Under the Dutch Supreme Court’s Lycos/Pessers judgment, a platform may in certain circumstances be required to disclose identifying information.
Four conditions apply:
- It must be sufficiently plausible that the publication is unlawful and harmful.
- The business must have a genuine interest in obtaining the information.
- There must be no less intrusive way to establish the identity.
- The balance of interests must favour the business.
Where these criteria are met, a claim may be brought for disclosure of names and address details or IP information.
Interim relief proceedings against the platform
If Google does not remove the review following a demand, interim relief proceedings may be brought. The legal starting point is that a hosting provider may incur liability if it fails to act promptly following clear notification of unlawful content.
The interim relief judge assesses each review individually for clear unlawfulness. Removal will be ordered only where this is established.
A practical approach to negative reviews
Alongside legal action, practical measures are often more effective.
- Respond professionally and substantively to the review.
- Try to contact the reviewer.
- Collect evidence of what actually happened.
- Report clearly unlawful content through the platform’s reporting procedure.
- Encourage satisfied customers to leave honest reviews.
Please note: posting fake positive reviews may constitute misleading advertising.
Negative reviews are a permanent feature of the digital business environment. Not every critical assessment is unlawful. Freedom of expression carries substantial weight, and courts are cautious about removal.
Businesses are not, however, powerless. Where reviews are demonstrably inaccurate, insulting or fake, action is possible, ranging from a platform report to a formal demand or interim relief proceedings.
