Getting sued over Tripadvisor review

[SirBillybob]

A Tripadvisor reviewer is being charged and / or sued for a negative review of a venue in Thailand. I have not bothered to dig into all the details because I don’t do specific online reviews of anything and I am busy. I don’t usually read reviews either. I just saw the headline in my news feed. I wonder if this will alter the landscape of free speech for input on travel experiences, etc. In the pandemic context I suppose a bad review is the death blow for tourism-related products.

[fedssocr1]

Thailand has very strict defamation laws. In this case the customer made up a very negative story and despite the resort trying to reason with him he persisted in posting his negative reviews.

[SirBillybob]

In Brazil you can be charged and do time for insulting somebody, especially if it is one/sided, even if the content is essentially true. A heated reciprocal exchange is more tolerated.

 

A defamation charge can be brought against you for outing a closeted guy that has homosexual experiences on the ‘down low’, or a ‘gay for pay’ provider. If he advertises, fine, if there is a site review component, also fine. But not a good idea to post photos and comments elsewhere in the public domain, particularly if you add the true identity or his identity can be uncovered. People might say, why would he draw more attention to himself? Don’t be daft. For face-saving if not extortion.

[+ Axiom2001]

A Tripadvisor reviewer is being charged and / or sued for a negative review of a venue in Thailand. I have not bothered to dig into all the details because I don’t do specific online reviews of anything and I am busy. I don’t usually read reviews either. I just saw the headline in my news feed. I wonder if this will alter the landscape of free speech for input on travel experiences, etc. In the pandemic context I suppose a bad review is the death blow for tourism-related products.

 

Thailand has very strict defamation laws. In this case the customer made up a very negative story and despite the resort trying to reason with him he persisted in posting his negative reviews.

 

If the customer's review was bogus, and he refused not to post it, then I would perhaps sue as well. I've written quite a few reviews after I've traveled; none were slanderous or untrue; all were all right as to my initial experiences.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Axiom2001

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I'd only be worried if the reviewer was also living in Thailand.

 

A judgement of any kind wouldn't matter if they were in the States.

 

 

In having written thousands of TripAdvisor reviews, I've been threatened with legal action from posting very honest accounts of what were really bad experiences. 100% of the time, TA stood behind me.

 

Also, 100% of the time the owners never followed through on the empty threats, as any decent attorney knows how difficult it is to successfully litigate slander and/or libel.

[SirBillybob]

Apparently he is an American working in Thailand, was charged, detained, and released on bail.

[orville]

Apparently he is an American working in Thailand, was charged, detained, and released on bail.

Sorry for being lazy in not looking for the article. Do you know if they warned him by saying that there could be legal repercussions as per the Thai justice system?

Edited October 1, 2020 by orville

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Apparently he is an American working in Thailand, was charged, detained, and released on bail.

 

Yikes. Let this be a lesson for expats.

 

When in Rome, do as Romans do, indeed.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Benjamin_Nicholas

[SirBillybob]

Sorry for being lazy in not looking for the article. Do you know if they warned him by saying that there could be legal repercussions as per the Thai justice system?

I don’t think that detail was in the article, a news outlet in Canada.

[Guest]

I remember once writing a negative review on a garage door repairman who tried to rip me off. He called me to tell me he'd sue me if I didn't take the negative review down. I told him if he called me one more time, I'd kick my foot up his ass so far, I'd knock his teeth out. He hung up and I never heard from him again.

[SirBillybob]

I remember once writing a negative review on a garage door repairman who tried to rip me off. He called me to tell me he'd sue me if I didn't take the negative review down. I told him if he called me one more time, I'd kick my foot up his ass so far, I'd knock his teeth out. He hung up and I never heard from him again.

But I’ll wager he then wanted to ‘rip off’ your clothes ?