Google bans people from posting negative online reviews about their former employers

The internet giant says the ability to negatively slam previous employers is a 'conflict of interest’

Google My Business is the tool behind the rating that appears on-screen when you carry out search for a business, using the search engine or its maps functions.

Google has now updated its review policies in a decision to knuckle down on who can post reviews to make them more accurate to avoid a conflict of interest.

“Maps user contributed content is most valuable when it is honest and unbiased,” it reads, adding that “posting negative content about a current or former employment experience” is not allowed.

Users are also banned from reviewing their own business and posting negative content about a competitor to manipulate ratings.

Previously, former employees were able to post biased reviews of companies they used to work at.  Of course, this had the potential to damage a company’s reputation in the eyes of an actual customer and were difficult to remove online.

With the updated policies, it will be easier for companies to have any unfair reviews removed, which should result in the ratings becoming more useful for ordinary people.

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