Is a Trustpilot review defamatory?
There is a hard line between a review you hate and a review you can act on. One is protected opinion. The other is a false statement of fact, and the law, in the right case, can take it down and make the reviewer pay. Here is where the line sits and how the legal routes actually work.
Last updated · reviewed by the Essentras editorial team
The numbers
Defamatory reviews carry a real price, for the reviewer.
The line
Defamation is a false statement of fact that harms you. Opinion, however brutal, is protected.
The Supreme Court settled this in Milkovich: calling something “my opinion” is not a shield. The test is whether a reasonable reader takes the statement as a verifiable fact. “Their service was terrible” is opinion. “They falsified my contract” or “this is a scam” asserts something that is either true or false, and if it’s false and it hurt you, it may be defamatory.
What’s actionable
Likely actionable vs. protected opinion.
- Accusations of a crime: fraud, theft, “scam”, “con men”
- Claims of professional misconduct or incompetence (defamation per se)
- Fabricated specific events: “they falsified my contract”, “charged 4x the quote”
- False statements about a transaction that never happened
- Verifiably untrue facts presented as facts, even prefaced with “in my opinion”
- “Terrible service”, “overpriced”, “rude staff”, pure subjective evaluation
- Honest opinion based on a real, disclosed experience
- Exaggeration and hyperbole a reasonable reader takes as opinion
- Harsh but true criticism
- A low rating with no factual claim attached
- “Likely actionable” is not a guarantee. Whether a specific review meets the legal bar is exactly what we assess before anyone spends on a claim.
The test
Four elements. Miss one, the claim fails.
This is the checklist a defamation lawyer runs before taking a case. We run the same one, honestly, for free.
The single most-litigated element. It must be objectively provable as false, not a matter of taste or opinion.
Communicated to at least one other person. A live review satisfies this automatically.
A private business need only show the reviewer was negligent about the truth. Public figures must clear the much higher “actual malice” bar.
Real reputational or financial damage. For UK companies, the Defamation Act 2013 requires “serious financial loss”, and causation is the hardest part to prove.
Want to know if your review clears the bar?
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The legal escalation ladder.
If a review is genuinely defamatory and Trustpilot won’t act, these are the steps that exist outside the platform. We run the platform process and this track together.
A formal letter identifying the false statements and demanding retraction. It signals real intent and often resolves matters before court.
Forces the platform to remove the content or disclose the reviewer’s identity, or lose its hosting immunity. The most actionable UK lever.
A court order unmasking an anonymous reviewer by compelling the platform to hand over their data, granted only on a strong underlying case.
Brought against the reviewer. Win it and the court can award damages and order removal. The bar is high, but the awards are real.
Real cases
What the courts have actually done.
“Total waste of money… another scam solicitor.” The word “scam” asserted a fact. Found defamatory; £25,000 and a removal order.
“Con men” and “rogue traders” across Trustpilot and Google. Defamatory; €40,000 against the reviewer.
Sued the platform over 20 reviews and a £3.7M “lost contract.” Lost on causation. The lesson: sue the reviewer, prove the harm.
Suing is a strategy, not a reflex.
A defamation claim is public. Done wrong, it draws far more eyes to the review than it ever had on its own, the Streisand effect. And in California, Texas, New York and many other US states, if you sue and lose an anti-SLAPP motion, you pay the reviewer’s legal fees.
That is why the first move is never the lawsuit. It is an honest read on whether the statement is really actionable, whether the harm is provable, and whether the platform route alone will get you there faster and quieter. Most of the time, it does.
Not sure if your review is defamatory? We’ll tell you straight.
We assess the legal strength and the platform odds together, for free, then run whichever route actually works. Official and legal channels only, no false promises.
FAQ
Trustpilot defamation, FAQ
What makes a Trustpilot review defamatory?▾
It must be a false statement of fact (not opinion), published, made at least negligently, and cause serious harm to your reputation or finances. "Terrible service" is protected opinion. "They falsified my contract" or "this is a scam" asserts a verifiable fact and can be defamatory if untrue.
Can I sue Trustpilot for a defamatory review?▾
Generally no. In the US, Section 230 immunises the platform; you sue the reviewer. In the UK there is no Section 230, but suing Trustpilot directly is very hard, as BW Legal found in 2024 when it lost over causation. The right target is almost always the reviewer.
What is a Section 5 notice?▾
Under the UK Defamation Act 2013, a formal notice of complaint requires Trustpilot to either remove the content or pass on the reviewer’s details. If it does neither, it can lose its protection from being sued itself. It is one of the most effective UK levers.
How do I find out who left an anonymous review?▾
Through a court order. In the UK a Norwich Pharmacal Order compels Trustpilot to disclose the data it holds (email, IP); in the US a John Doe lawsuit plus subpoena does the same. Courts only grant these where the underlying defamation case is genuinely strong.
How much can a defamation claim recover?▾
UK and Irish courts have awarded £25,000 and €40,000 against reviewers for defamatory reviews. But damages depend on proven harm, the reviewer’s ability to pay, and surviving anti-SLAPP exposure in the US. We assess the realistic picture before anyone commits.
Could suing make it worse?▾
It can. Litigation is public and can draw more attention to the review than it ever had (the Streisand effect), and in many US states losing an anti-SLAPP motion means paying the reviewer’s legal fees. That is exactly why we assess the strength and the strategy first.
Sources
This is general information, not legal advice, and legal outcomes depend on your jurisdiction and facts. Essentras works through Trustpilot’s official process and lawful legal channels, never removes genuine reviews, and never guarantees an outcome. We are not affiliated with Trustpilot.
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