Business reviews site Yelp amounts to an “extortion scheme,” according to a class action lawsuit filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles court by two law firms and a Long Beach, Calif. veterinary hospital that claims it was “victimized” by Yelp sales representatives asking for payment in exchange for the removal of negative reviews.
“The plaintiff…asked that Yelp remove a false and defamatory review from the Web site,” a release from the law firms alleges. “In response, as set forth in the lawsuit, Yelp refused to take down the review. Instead, the company’s sales representatives repeatedly contacted the hospital and demanded a roughly $300 per-month payment in exchange for hiding or removing the negative review.” That payment is “in the guise of ‘advertising contracts,’” the release explained.
Sounds like extortion to me.
