Romania: Damage to reputation vs. freedom of opinion - What can be done against bad reviews on the Internet under Romanian law?

When is a negative company review in Romania classified as illegal?

There are no explicit statutory regulations as to when a negative company review is to be classified as unlawful. The generally applicable principles apply, according to which reviews that have a criminal relevance or that are false or likely to discredit a person or a company or are capable of having a negative effect on the image of the company in public, such as in the case of false allegations or abuse, are prohibited.

What measures can be taken against unlawful reviews?

Actions may be filed for the deletion and omission of corresponding reviews and, under certain circumstances, also for compensation in the event that these reviews were not deleted after a relevant request. Furthermore, in the event of criminal conduct, a criminal complaint can be filed with the competent investigating authority. There is also the option of requesting a deletion by means of expedited proceedings; however, the relevant requirements set by the courts in Romania are very high and in practice the granting of corresponding expedited applications is the exception. The measures mentioned above can be taken against the person responsible for the review or, if applicable, against the operators of the Internet platform or the review portal on which the review was posted.

Can you buy positive fake reviews as a company?

Although there are no explicit statutory regulations regarding the purchase of fake reviews by companies, the general principles apply according to which a company may not make any misleading or false statements on the Internet. Own fake reviews that basically intend to improve the company's reputation are therefore impermissible and can also be anti-competitive.

In this context, the development of a project has been announced with regard to online retailers. One essential point of this project is to be the ban on fake reviews. A period for the development of the above-mentioned project is currently not known.