bto Partner takes Edinburgh Festival Fringe stage

Scots law firm bto Solicitors has taken the stage at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the sixth consecutive year.

Partner and solicitor advocate Paul Motion, head of bto’s specialist online reputation and data protection teams, has been sharing his experience of fake and damaging Internet reviews in a show called Phoney or False Reviews Online - What Can I Do?.

The show examines whether the law provides effective remedies and whether review websites are doing enough to protect businesses on the receiving end.

Mr Motion will discuss cases including a family restaurant business accused on Tripadvisor of unethical business practices, and a family garage business faced with false reviews and subsequently being asked for £1,000 to remove them.

Mr Motion said: “While the Internet has become indispensable in helping small businesses promote themselves, it has also left them somewhat at the mercy of a growing army of amateur reviewers.

“Years spent building a great reputation can be undone overnight, whether by a one-sided customer rant or a completely fake review with the aim of damaging the company name.

“I will share details of real cases my colleagues and I have dealt with, offer some practical thoughts on what action can be taken in response to a fake review or a rant and generally try to work out whether the law or the review sites provide effective remedies.”

Mr Motion’s final show is taking place today, 1.30pm at Fringe Central (Venue 2).

Tickets are free and can be obtained at the door or reserved on the Fringe website.