Texas A&M School of Law Business Speaker Series
Please join us for the Texas A&M University School of Law San Antonio Business Speaker Series during your lunch hour.
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Location: San Antonio Area Foundation's Wells Center @ Pearl
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY OF ONLINE REVIEWS OF BUSINESSES
Presented by Professor Wayne Barnes,
Texas A&M University School of Law
The Internet has brought innumerable innovations to our lives. Consumer-posted information about merchants, goods, and services has also become be a rich source of information for consumers researching a purchase online. Such reviews are posted on websites such as Yelp, Amazon and TripAdvisor, on apps, and on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The amount and volume of reviews has exploded in recent years, and these reviews have taken on great significance in the shopping experiences of millions of consumers. Indeed, positive reviews can greatly enhance a company’s profitability, while a negative review can have devastating effects. Some companies had begun using non-disparagement clauses to contractually prohibit negative reviews. But the public reacted negatively to the attempt to completely ban reviews from being posted online, and in 2016 Congress enacted the Consumer Review Fairness Act which was intended to largely prohibit the use of clauses preventing such reviews. However, the concern of companies regarding “troll-like” virulent reviews, often posted solely for vengeance purposes, remains valid. Professor Barnes, an expert in electronic contracting law, will discuss this problem, and whether and how businesses can protect themselves after passage of the federal Act.
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Location: San Antonio Area Foundation's Wells Center
@ Pearl, in the Lab Building
303 Pearl Parkway, Suite 114, San Antonio, TX 78215
Guest parking under US 281 at Pearl Parkway and Avenue B.
Information, directions and map available at http://www.saafdn.org/About/ContactUs.aspx
Continuing Legal Education credit (0.5 hours) will be offered for Texas attorneys who attend the event.