False Google Review Damaging Your Business? Cease and Desist

A 1-star review hits your Google Business listing. The reviewer claims things that didn’t happen — they were never your customer, the events they describe are fabricated, or they’re confusing you with another business. Phone enquiries drop. Bookings dip. Your average rating tanks.

Google’s review system has serious problems with false reviews. Their internal flagging process is slow and often ineffective. But Australian defamation law gives you stronger options than most business owners realise.

The legal position

Under the Defamation Act 2005 (each Australian state has its own substantively uniform version), publishing a statement that lowers the reputation of a business — including in a Google review — can give rise to a defamation claim against the reviewer.

For businesses specifically, defamation actions can be brought by:

• Sole traders and partnerships (always)
• Companies with fewer than 10 employees (capped under the Defamation Act)
• Not-for-profit organisations (always)

Larger companies (10+ employees) can’t sue for defamation directly but can sue for injurious falsehood, which has higher hurdles but similar remedies.

What about Google?

Depending on the facts, a platform such as Google may be liable as a publisher of defamatory content once it has been notified and has not acted, for example after a Defamation Act 2005 “concerns notice” has been served. So a properly-served C&D + concerns notice puts pressure on the reviewer AND on Google simultaneously.

The Cease and Desist letter

A formal C&D to the reviewer:

• Identifies the specific review and its defamatory imputations
• Establishes that the reviewer was never your customer (or was, but the events described are false)
• Cites the Defamation Act provisions for your state
• Demands removal of the review within a specific timeframe
• Notes that the next step is a formal concerns notice under the Defamation Act, the prerequisite to court action

Identifying anonymous reviewers

Many false reviews are posted under fake names or pseudonyms. Australian courts have shown they’re willing to grant preliminary discovery orders against Google to identify reviewers in genuine defamation cases. That’s expensive and slow, but it exists. A formal letter puts your position on record and sets out what happens next.

The parallel Google flagging

While the C&D goes out, flag the review with Google directly using their “Report review” function. If the review violates their policies (off-topic, fake business relationship, defamatory), they may take it down before the C&D resolves things.

What Claim Done’s C&D covers

• The review (URL, content, posting date, reviewer username)
• The defamatory imputations identified
• Evidence the reviewer was never a genuine customer (or the events are false)
• Citation of the Defamation Act for your state
• Demand for removal within 14 days
• Escalation pathway (concerns notice → court)

$49 flat fee. The wizard handles Google-review defamation specifically. Sent by email.