Reputation is everything in the business world. It has never been easier for prospective clients, customers or business partners to research an organization. There are company review sites and even social media networks where current employees may talk about how a company treats them.
What individuals say about a business can directly impact its future prospects. In some cases, employees and business leaders from other organizations may intentionally spread inaccurate information about an organization online. The damaging false information shared could constitute defamation.
Can companies take legal action to address defamation that has impacted a company’s revenue or reputation?
Defamation is a business tort
Torts are civil, not criminal, actions that cause harm to others. There are a variety of inappropriate business activities that could constitute actionable torts. Defamation is certainly one of them.
Also known as commercial disparagement, business defamation entails making false statements with the intention of harming a company’s reputation and future prospects. Falsified or exaggerated digital reviews could constitute defamation.
Companies that can disprove negative claims made online and that can connect those claims to competitors may be able to initiate a commercial lawsuit seeking to hold the other party accountable. Successful defamation litigation can lead to injunctions prohibiting future defamation or requiring the removal of prior content shared with the intent of harming a company. The courts can also award damages to those harmed by commercial disparagement.
Business leaders struggling due to inaccurate online claims may need help fighting to protect the organizations they run. Documenting digital disparagement and reviewing the situation with a commercial attorney could be the first step toward justice via business litigation.
