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TripAdvisor warns users over Thai hotel that legally pursued reviewer

by pionerkotik on 11/12/20, 11:26 AM with 41 comments

  • by justinclift on 11/12/20, 5:03 PM

    Relevant HN threads about the original problem (the guy being jailed for his negative online reviews):

    * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24608925

    * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24605386

  • by dkdk8283 on 11/12/20, 4:53 PM

    Chilling effect.

    Imagine where the US is headed with online censorship and cancel culture. If you publicly disagree with controversial views you’re in for a bad time.

  • by asdefghyk on 11/12/20, 9:25 PM

    TripAdvisor is protecting their business model by posting the warning on the hotels page. (They should post a warning on every page saying something like Reviews should be honest and no exaggeration. Reviews that are determined to be malicious could result in defamation lawsuits )

  • by rkagerer on 11/13/20, 4:08 AM

    Out of curiosity, does TripAdvisor provide its own mechanism for hosts to dispute misrepresentations in reviews?

    If so, would its investigation hold a candle to what takes place in a conventional legal proceeding?

  • by im3w1l on 11/13/20, 5:38 PM

    This is retaliation; they are trying to scare people into not exercising their legal rights. If trip advisor wanted to be responsible they warn foreigners - who might not know about the local laws - about all Thai establishments, rather than point fingers.

  • by belval on 11/14/20, 4:37 AM

    I am not sure what's incorrect here, or the conclusion that the article wants me to draw.

    The client: Decided to post a (possibly fake) review on a hotel he was staying at. The hotel: Sued the client as is their right I suppose. TripAdvisor: Gave the above information to their new clients so they'd know that leaving a bad review could be met with legal action from the hotel.

    Nothing wrong happened here? Why shouldn't TripAdvisor be allowed to inform their customers? Why should the hotel not use the law of their country to sue an individual?

    Give me a break, most hotels have some bad reviews which, when the hotel is actually good will be drowned in good reviews. TripAdvisor could say that they are alligators in the pools for all I care, they are a private entity...