A company has been fined for using astroturfers to promote its products online, a US first. The company, Lifestyle Lift, also had a history of using trademark and copyright to threaten and silence its critics. The company settled with AG Andrew Cuomo's office for a mere $300K. I favor the corporate death-penalty here — this company spent years defrauding the public and used the law to bully whistle-blowers. They don't deserve to be in business for one more second.
The company has aggressively guarded its online reputation. In 2007, it sued an Arizona man who maintained a consumer-oriented Web site that included criticisms of Lifestyle Lift, saying the site's use of the procedure's name infringed on the company's trademark and amounted to false advertising. A federal judge in Michigan dismissed the case last year, saying the site was commentary protected by the First Amendment.
But Lifestyle Lift also came up with another new way to fight back: Having staffers post glowing reviews, comments and testimonials that appeared to come from clients.
"I need you to devote the day to doing more postings on the Web as a satisfied client," employees were told in one internal e-mail, according to the attorney general's office. Another internal message directed a worker to "put your wig and skirt on and tell them about the great experience you had."
The disguised workers did that and more, sometimes pushing to get message boards to remove critical posts and even setting up pro-Lifestyle Lift Web sites that masqueraded as independent views, Cuomo's office said. The postings dated back to early 2007, the attorney general's office said.
NY AG: Facelift firm placed bogus online reviews
(via /.)
