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 “legal tool”, sooner or later, we’ll have only 5 star reviews in Germany.
Update, I found Ermes’ 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 country’s 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 “we may be obliged by legal requirements” 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
I’ve 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, I’ve now followed up with a written statement requesting reconsideration, and I’ve documented everything for future reference.
I didn’t rewrite the review, because I stand by what I wrote. It was honest, fair, and written in good faith. I believe it’s deeply concerning that in Germany, some business owners are now weaponizing defamation law to remove any review that isn’t 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.
I’ve 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. I’ve submitted a second objection to Google’s 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.
!
