Hi everyone ,
I am posting this because I am honestly extremely frustrated. A review I wrote about a restaurant I visited two and a half to three years ago has suddenly been flagged for defamation. As a result, I received a strike on my account and none of my new reviews are being published anymore.
The review was fair, factual and written in a respectful tone. I even spoke with the owner at the time, shared all my feedback in person, and he thanked me for it. I have since removed one sentence that might have come across too blunt, but the rest of the review stands. It was my honest opinion and absolutely not defamatory.
I have already protested this automated decision via Google Maps but nothing has changed. I cannot believe a business can report a review years later, label it as defamation, and get it removed without any real check. This affects my credibility as a Local Guide and undermines the purpose of leaving honest feedback.
And how are we supposed to share real experiences if anything that is not glowing five stars puts us at risk?
Any advice or help is very welcome. I would really appreciate if someone from the team could take this seriously.
(I attach a screenshot of the review in question which is in German as I am Dutch/Australian but live in Germany.)
The take down is not necessarily initiated by the business owner. The AI spam filter patrols all our contributions again and again. And since the AI filter is adjusted and trained continuously I believe it is more likely that the spam filter took it down.
I have seen cases where unrelated violations caused reviews to be taken down. I will therefore suggest you share the Maps link to your profile for a check.
If all is good, there is an appeals form you can try.
Hi @MortenCopenhagen , thanks for taking the time to reply. However, this is the email I got, see screenshot so this is definitely something the business owner initiated. I already submitted an appeal against the original automated takedown, but unfortunately that appeal was handled automatically. I have now submitted a second appeal and specifically requested a fair manual review by an actual person.
Hello @MortenCopenhagen, I believe, it was @ErmesT who explained a while ago the special situation in Germany, where business owners can threaten Google to take them to court and if so, Google hides the post immediately, but also sends an email to the local guide as shown in the last screen shot of @BarkingMice.
There is a link in the mail to oppose against the hiding of post. I did have such a case about a year ago and my opposition was successful, but recently there are coming more and reports on Connect about similar cases, where the opposition was ignored (e.g. How to write reviews and prevent defamation? and Low rated reviews get taken down for defamation).
If more business owners use this âlegal toolâ, sooner or later, weâll have only 5 star reviews in Germany.
Update, I found Ermesâ explanation:
Thanks for the link @MortenCopenhagen!
Funny, the first suggestion "Clearly state that your review does not contain defamation as defined under the applicable law (you can cite your countryâs law for extra weight). " In other words, if you are not a lawyer, you should consult one before writing any review.
Yes, @BarkingMice , @MortenCopenhagen , @WilfriedB
In the Google Maps help the sentence âwe may be obliged by legal requirementsâ is quite common. So of course when there are more laws and the laws are in conflict Google must follow all them:
In the EU, a community law requires Google to notify the author of a review that has been made private, and to give them the opportunity to appeal the decision up to and including a court case, if necessary.
In Germany (which is also part of the EU), a local law provides that a business that is the victim of a (supposedly) defamatory review can sue the platform that hosts the review.
New laws are being proposed around the world, and some are already in place, to protect:
consumers deceived by fake reviews created by businesses
businesses against fake reviews created against them by competitors, as they can damage their business
Obviously, businesses use all the options that the laws make available to them to try to remove negative reviews, so the position of those who host the reviews (all of them, not just Google Maps) is quite complex, and must adapt to all the laws in this regard.
Therefore, in Italy, businesses often threaten legal action against reviewers in their responses to reviews, but they will never do so, because they would have to bear the costs of a trial that they will certainly lose.
In Germany, however, the legal action would be against Google, which then informs the reviewer and gives them the opportunity to appeal (a European obligation) but then will have to pass the problem on to the legal section (not to a trained operator) to assess whether there could actually be a risk of facing a trial, which could take place in months or even years.
In conclusion, I agree that
However, I wonder whether this abuse of the possibilities offered by the law could not end one day in a situation of this kind.
Thank you all @MortenCopenhagen, @WilfriedB and @ErmesT
Iâve used the information you shared, especially about the legal framing around §5 GG (freedom of expression), burden of proof in defamation claims, and how to clarify the difference between fact and opinion, to submit a second formal contestation in both English and German. Even though Google had already removed the review, Iâve now followed up with a written statement requesting reconsideration, and Iâve documented everything for future reference.
I didnât rewrite the review, because I stand by what I wrote. It was honest, fair, and written in good faith. I believe itâs deeply concerning that in Germany, some business owners are now weaponizing defamation law to remove any review that isnât five stars.
This goes far beyond protecting reputations. It undermines freedom of speech and creates a culture where open, respectful critique gets silenced. A negative review is not defamation. Describing a disappointing experience, especially without naming individuals or making false claims, is well within the bounds of protected opinion.
Iâve decided to take a step back and share this as a reflection rather than an update, because the situation I described earlier has not been resolved yet. Iâve submitted a second objection to Googleâs decision to remove my review after a legal complaint from the business owner, and I have not received a reply yet.
The review in question was detailed, respectful, and based entirely on my personal experience. It mentioned both positives and negatives, and it contained no insults, falsehoods or personal attacks. Still, it was flagged as defamation under German law and removed.
I have since reposted it on Google Maps through a second account, with an added explanation and the original photos from my visit. I stand by what I wrote, because I believe that honest, good-faith reviews deserve to be protected, not erased.
What strikes me most is this: the location now shows no reviews below four stars. Not a single one. For a place with regular traffic, that seems more than coincidence. It suggests that critical voices may be quietly removed, one by one.
I do not know how this will end, but I do know it matters. As Local Guides, we invest time and care into sharing real experiences. When fair reviews disappear due to legal pressure, it affects the trust in the entire platform.
Today, I have been flagged for defamation for a 3 star rating without any text, I gave in December 2023!
To me, three stars means not good, not bad, it is just OK. How can this be considered defamation? This shows clearly, companies are trying to push for 100% 5 star ratings.
I did file opposition against it half an hour ago and will see what happens with it.
@ErmesT, I believe you wanted to escalate these cases, correct? Or is there a different thread to collect these reports?
The place is Bistro Schacht XII, my rating no shows âpendingâ, the notification mail shows reference number [2-9774000039316].
Update as June 24, 2025:
After sending the form four days ago, I received another mail today, asking for an explanation. I responded, just a three star rating without text, cannot be defamation. Minutes later, I received the response:
âGoogle wird derzeit keine MaĂnahmen ergreifen.
Der betreffende Inhalt verstöĂt anscheinend gegen Folgendes:
Rechtsprechung: Germany
VerstöĂt anscheinend gegen: Diffamierungâ
(Google is not going to take any action at this time. The content in question seems to be contrary to: Jurisdiction: Apparently violates: Defamation)
Thatâs exactly the answer I also got @WilfriedB ! Itâs incredibly annoying. I decided to upload my review from a different Google account, explaining my views.
For my part, I donât care about the single rating, but I am worried about the general tendency that companies can force Google to only publish five star ratings. Hopefully @ErmesT can collect and escalate these cases otherwise we can forget about reviews at all.
Agreed! Thatâs exactly why I did it, explaining this (in my opinion dangerous) tendency to boost ratings by having the others removed. This restaurant for example now only has 5 star ratings. I know âmany people, just as many views â but thatâs not honest at all. Theyâve boosted their ratings by falsely claimingâdefamationâ as is allowed under German law.
Thanks @WilfriedB , and sorry everyone for my late replies in this conversation (and in many others) as Iâve been mostly offline for a few weeks.
Obviously I am not an expert about German Laws, so I spent a few hours studying the matter (Thanks Gemini for the help!).
Briefly, as far as I can see, frequently the businesses are abusing of the possibility given by the law.
The law contains many nuances, including that defamation must be proven, and that a distinction must be made between âfalse statements that are intended to discredit the businessâ and the fundamental right of everyone to express their opinion (Article 5 of the German Basic Law).
I am preparing a file to better escalate this anomaly to Google
@ErmesT the extreme so far, was a three star rating without any review text and Google did not accept my opposition. I would understand this for one star without any description, but to me, 3 star means ânot good, not badâ.
BeitrĂ€ge mĂŒssen entfernt werden, weil eine schlechte Firma nicht will das sie schlecht bewertet wird und sogar mit Klage droht. Also Firmen nur noch gut bewerten, auch wenn sie nicht so gut ist. Ansonsten droht eine Anzeige. Ist aber nicht Sinn der Sache. Dadurch werden Firmen besser gestellt.
!
