Can a contract stop me leaving a negative review?

You booked a service, had a bad experience, and found a sentence saying you must not publish anything that could harm the business's reputation. Another sentence mentions a fee. Does signing mean you have lost the right to leave an honest review?

For US consumer form contracts, a signature is not the whole answer. The FTC's Consumer Review Fairness Act guidance explains that certain standardized restrictions on honest consumer reviews are prohibited. This guide covers that specific situation, with sources checked on 23 October 2026.

First, which relationship does the document cover?

The phrase non-disparagement clause can appear in very different agreements. Classify yours before borrowing an answer from a search result.

An individually negotiated agreement may also raise a different scope question from take-it-or-leave-it standard consumer terms. Record what was standardized and whether you had a meaningful opportunity to negotiate it.

What restrictions does the US consumer rule address?

The FTC describes provisions that ban or restrict reviews of a business's goods, services or conduct, impose penalties or fees for them, or require consumers to give up intellectual-property rights in their review. A permission to use review content can be different from taking ownership of it.

The protection covers honest assessments in formats such as social posts, photographs and videos as well as written reviews. Calling a restriction a “brand protection policy” does not answer what it actually does. Look at the consequence: removal, a charge, loss of a refund, or a demand to transfer rights.

This does not make every possible post protected. The FTC guidance identifies exceptions involving confidential or private information, defamatory or harassing material, unrelated content, and clearly false or misleading material. An unpleasant opinion and an inaccurate factual accusation are not the same thing.

Work through a fictional clause

Fictional example: “The customer must not publish any statement that could damage our reputation. Each breach attracts a $500 administration charge. All rights in any review transfer to us.”

Break it into three issues rather than asking whether the whole paragraph “looks legal.”

These are reading questions, not a finding that a particular business has violated the law. Keep the whole agreement and relevant facts with the clause.

A review and complaint worksheet

Before posting or challenging a demand, make a short record:

1. Relationship: what you bought, from whom, and whether these were standard consumer terms.
2. Exact restriction: clause number, linked policy version, charge, removal demand or ownership provision.
3. Evidence: booking confirmation, dated messages, photographs and the business's response. Preserve originals privately.
4. Your proposed words: distinguish dates and events you can support from your opinion about the experience.
5. Information to leave out: other people's private details, confidential documents, payment credentials and unrelated allegations.
6. Next step: ask for the restriction to be removed, use the platform's complaint process, or report a suspected issue to the FTC through the route linked in its guidance.

If terms are on another webpage, use the linked-terms register to retain the version you were shown. Do not assume a later screenshot proves what was agreed earlier.

A message you can adapt

I am asking about clause [number] in the standard terms for [service]. It appears to restrict an honest consumer review and impose [consequence]. Please confirm that you will remove that restriction and will not rely on it to penalize an honest review. I am not asking to publish private or confidential information. Please also explain any separate complaint process you want me to use.

Replace the brackets with facts; do not assert consumer status if this was a freelance or employment arrangement. A threatened claim, negotiated settlement, or disputed allegation needs more specific consideration than this introductory worksheet can supply.

What an AI review can help you locate

An AI first pass can help find review restrictions spread across confidentiality, publicity, penalties and content-ownership sections. It cannot guarantee that your proposed post is lawful or that the consumer rule applies. Keep the question concrete: “Which clauses affect my ability to describe this purchase, and what facts would change the answer?”

For a broader starting point, see how to read a contract yourself. You can use this worksheet without uploading a document or buying anything.