Germany’s defamation laws distort Google reviews
Germany’s defamation laws distort Google reviews
By Chris Stokel-Walker | Published: 2025-10-26 14:30:00 | Source: Fast Company – technology
On her recent holiday in Berlin, Emma Watkins, a marketing assistant working in the UK, wrote a three-star review of a bar she visited. “It was good, but it wasn’t amazing, and it wasn’t what I expected from a highly rated review – it was a four-point score,” she recalls. When she returned home, she noticed that her average rating for the organization had been deleted. “When they said it was defamatory, I was confused,” she says. “I Googled it, and then I realized what had happened. Suddenly I had a high rating for what I thought was a fairly average sensation.”(Fast company Don’t name the bar or you might fall under the same German defamation laws.)
Watkins isn’t the only one who has lost faith in German business reviews on Google. For a large part of the world, Google is more popular than Yelp. If you want to find the best tourist attractions, bars, or restaurants in a new city outside the United States, Google Maps will likely be your first port of call.
The system works relatively well. The best restaurants are rewarded with good reviews, while potential customers can make their own judgment on establishments that have received a two- or three-star rating. Some were saddled with vicious one-star reviews from nightmarish customers (probably?) while, in other cases, the public judged the establishment.
Except in Germany, where every restaurant, bar and tourist attraction seems to be suspiciously excellent. The country seems to be full of four and five star establishments
In Germany, an overly lenient defamation regime means that any criticism of a company is likely to be erased by Google’s takedown system. Completely 99.97% of Google Maps ratings Official European data shows that companies struck for “defamation” across the 27-nation EU were reserved for companies based in Germany. Social media is Full of complaints Business in the country Just don’t accept negative reviews. There are German language websites that offer tips on how to remove negative reviews from your Google history. these The articles themselves have ratingsWhich, perhaps not surprisingly, received a score of 4.3 out of 5.
This is all part of the SEO mission, which often extends to reputation management, says Manik Bhan, CEO of Search Atlas, a global SEO software company. Removing negative reviews is nothing new. But weaponizing the German defamation system in this way is acceptable.
“As part of our work to provide trustworthy information on Google Maps, we remove reviews if they violate our content policies or local laws — and not just because the company doesn’t like them,” a Google spokesperson says. Fast company. “Reviewers are notified if their contributions are removed and have the option to appeal that decision.”
Typically, removing a negative review involves reaching out to the reviewer and asking them to reconsider their comments, Bhan says. But in places like Germany where digital laws are particularly strict, some SEOs approach the process differently. “They often label negative content as defamatory and file formal complaints, using a legal loophole to have the content removed by Google or similar platforms,” Bhan says.
Germany’s strict regulations allow business owners to claim virtually any individual review as defamation. Google support site It highlights that he is aware of the matter. In response to a Google product expert’s explanation of review being a known issue, regular users acknowledge the power imbalance. “I understand that, but it really distorts what valuations in Germany really mean.” one user wrote.Â
Google does not comment on how it handles removal requests. But experts note that a company tends to take action against negative reviews reported as defamatory if reviewers cannot provide evidence that they are actually at the establishment in question — such as a check or meal bill — allowing business owners to claim that the reviews are fictional. Under German law, the legal burden of proof falls on those who make statements, not on plaintiffs who bring a defamation case and need to prove that the statements are false.
This is why Google removes the less glowing reviews of many users
Bhan points out that removing reviews when asked, even if the review is likely legitimate but lacks documentary evidence that the reviewer exists, is an easier route for Google than continuing with it. “Google does not want to risk penalties or fines from European regulators, so it may automatically comply with such requests, sometimes at the expense of search quality,” Bhan says. “It’s less about doing what’s fair for users and more about staying compliant.” This is clearly what is happening here in Germany
Of course, there are precedents of people using reviews as a weapon to damage the reputation of companies they disagree with. For this reason, it is important that you have the ability to dispute what are believed to be incorrect or unrealistic reviews. But this weaponization can go both ways.
An SEO expert is candid about the practice of using takedowns as a weapon for “smear” in Germany. “It’s not ideal, and it’s not ethical, but if everyone plays by these rules, companies may feel compelled to do the same.”
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