Reviews are advertising in the eyes of the law

The Competition Act prohibits false or misleading representations made to promote a business. The Competition Bureau has said plainly that this covers fake reviews, reviews from people with a connection to the business that is not disclosed, and hiding negative reviews so the overall picture looks better than it is.

This is not new. In 2015, Bell Canada agreed to a $1.25 million penalty after employees were encouraged to post positive reviews of its apps without saying they worked there. In January 2024 the Bureau warned businesses again: employees must disclose their connection, even when their opinion is honest. It is also investigating review practices at Amazon, and said in March 2026 that the investigation is ongoing.

The penalties are serious

Under the civil rules, a business can face a penalty of up to $10 million for a first offence, or three times the benefit it gained if that is higher. Individuals can face up to $750,000. The amounts go up for repeat offences.

Since June 20, 2025, the Bureau is no longer the only one that can bring a case. With the Competition Tribunal’s permission, a private party, such as a competitor, can now apply too. A small business is very unlikely to see penalties anywhere near those maximums. But a complaint from a rival is now a real possibility.

What this means for your testimonials page

  • Use real reviews from real customers. Keep a record: the email or message, the date and their permission to use it.
  • Do not write reviews yourself, and do not have staff, family or friends post them without saying who they are.
  • Disclose incentives. If someone got a discount or a free service for a review, say so beside it.
  • Do not misrepresent the overall picture. Featuring your favourite quotes is normal. Claiming a 5.0 average when you have filtered out the bad ones is not.
  • Do not change the meaning. Shortening a quote is fine. Changing what it says is not.
  • Skip the stock photos. A smiling model beside a quote suggests a real customer. Use a real name or initials, with permission.
  • AI-written reviews are fake reviews. There is no grey area there.

Using a customer’s name and comments is also personal information, so ask first. My article on PIPEDA and your website covers consent.

The honest version works better

Real reviews are not hard to get. Ask happy customers right after the job is done, while they are still pleased, and send them a direct link to your Google review page. Reply politely to the occasional bad review. A page of real reviews with a few honest four-star ones looks more believable than a wall of perfect fives. I go into this more in trust signals for a small business website.

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