The FTC Fake Reviews Rule (16 CFR Part 465)
Effective October 2024, this binding rule carries civil penalties for fake, incentivized, and manipulated reviews. What it prohibits and how it affects affiliates.
The Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, codified at 16 CFR Part 465, is a binding trade regulation the FTC finalized in August 2024, with an effective date of October 21, 2024. Unlike the Endorsement Guides, which interpret the law, this rule carries civil penalties directly — currently up to $53,088 per violation for knowing violations. Affiliates who publish reviews or testimonials need to understand it.
What the rule prohibits
- Fake or false reviews and testimonials — creating, selling, buying, or disseminating reviews that misrepresent a real user’s experience, are written by people who do not exist or never used the product, or are AI-generated fakes.
- Incentivized reviews conditioned on sentiment — offering compensation in exchange for a review expressing a particular view, positive or negative.
- Undisclosed insider reviews — reviews by officers, managers, employees, or their relatives without a clear disclosure of the connection.
- Company-controlled review sites that pose as independent.
- Review suppression — using unfounded legal threats or intimidation to remove reviews, or misrepresenting that displayed reviews reflect all reviews.
- Fake engagement indicators — buying or selling fake followers, views, or engagement to misrepresent influence for a commercial purpose.
Direct penalties, not just guidance
Because this is a rule rather than guidance, knowing violations expose a business to civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. In December 2025, FTC staff sent warning letters to ten companies citing exactly this exposure.
How it affects affiliates
If your model relies on product reviews — and most affiliate content does — several duties follow. Reviews must reflect genuine experience. You cannot condition a gift or payment on a positive review. If anyone connected to a seller writes a review, the connection must be disclosed. And you cannot present a curated, positive-only set of reviews as if it represented all feedback.
The relationship to the Endorsement Guides
The rule reinforces the Guides rather than replacing them. The Guides still govern disclosure of material connections in endorsements; the rule adds a directly enforceable prohibition on fake, incentivized, and manipulated reviews. Comply with both. For enforcement context, see FTC enforcement and penalties.
Authoritative sources
Last reviewed July 2026. This page is general educational information, not legal or tax advice.