Clearway Law, what is it and why the controversy? (2023)

It's time for people to stop accusing anyone they don't like of being a scammer and a scammer. They are words loaded with legal meaning. If you want to know what makes someone a fraud, you can read about it atjustice website🇧🇷 If someone fails to meet these elements, it is not a fraud.

I love reading news of people or companies getting big cool prizes because I've been bullied online more than most. I manage a lawyer directory that allows the public to leave lawyer reviews. Sometimes when alawyer gets a bad reviewof a customer on our platform, he takes it out on us, or more specifically, on me. Here's an example.

Why do people want to stop the Clearway Act?

This Reddit post came from a marketing manager at a law firm in Toronto. He contacted me and demanded that I take down profiles of all the lawyers in his office. He said only he can control his lawyers' online reputations. He also posted that I was a bully on Google Maps, which was later removed by Google.

But things got weirder from there. All of a sudden people started messaging me, saying that someone was sending them a direct message, saying that they should help stop mylawyer qualificationsite web.

Some of the lawyers who received bad reviews on Clearway now leave Internet postings saying things like "someone needs tostop the clearway law." It's unbelievable, but a lawyer even posted an ad on a subtitle site. Now, when people download subtitles on sites like 123movies, they see the ad below. You can see that the ad continues to say that the public shouldn't leave comments for lawyers.

Spend money on online harassment

Whether anyone would actually spend hundreds or thousands of dollars targeting large groups of people is beyond me. My guess is that they were interested in Clearway's plight and knew that spending maybe $2000 was cheaper (and a lot faster) than filing a lawsuit. They got instant revenge.

Your ads were successful. Once the ads started, Google searches for my business went from 1,000 people a month to 35,000.

As I wrote this article, "Jackthemov," the same person who posts to Reddit and emails us weekly, resubmitted a review that Google removed three times for being false.

Clearway Act Controversy

This person has also hired some type of company that managesbots redditand will automatically message people in a specific subreddit. I think this is a cheap way of trying to bring us down. This bot company also posts the same 1 star reviews on Google Maps which Google keeps removing.

I even had to turn voicemail off on my cell phone because I had a harassment bot that left a voicemail every five minutes demanding that I take down the lawyers' profiles or someone would "call the cops for fraud."

But some people see right through the stain. They see that our mission is to increase lawyers' accountability, and we've had a lot of support.

There is nothing illegal about indexing information from the Internet.

Someone emailed me the other day with the following:

“I Googled your company and the challenges you face (believe it or not) make me want to work there more and more. There's nothing illegal about what you're doing, but it looks like you're pissing yourself off by doing something that should be common sense. I think as long as other people's information and photos are posted publicly and you obtain them legally, there's nothing inherently wrong with taking them and using them for your own service."

People need to stop normalizing online defamation. Stop spreading lies and misinformation and always question everything you read. Judges must also do their part by being willing to make important decisions when someone posts a malicious review, which is relatively rare. It is not uncommon forpeople to get $1when they win defamation cases.

Looking at the lawsuit that just came out about Longhouse Specialty Forest Products getting the$90,000 Judgmentagainst Tyler Ginther gives me hope. Longhouse is a wood products company and Tyler Ginther was a customer ordering wood. Ginther was building houses in White Rock, BC. There was a dispute over the quality of the wood delivered and Ginther decided to try to get the credit card company to remove the charge from the credit card.

It should have been a clue to Ginther that he was entering dangerous legal territory when he complained to his credit card company and they didn't believe him. Just because you were dissatisfied with the product you received did not give you the right to commit credit card fraud (denying a charge when you approved it), nor did it give you the right to post false and malicious statements online about Longhouse. 🇧🇷

The purpose of fake reviews is to harm a business

When someone writes about a company like Longhouse Wood saying they are not honest with credit cards and commit fraud, it does serious damage. The sole purpose of these types of reviews is not to educate the public, but to harm the business. In this case, the defendant refused to remove the revisions for three years (until the suit was filed).

Starting a business is harrowing work. It involves worrying about or dealing with lawsuits, constantly organizing invoices and receipts for the accountant, responding to regulators, cash flow issues, worrying whether the right people you hire will work, and many other stresses and doubts. Some random person shouldn't post false things about your business with the aim of destroying your hard work without consequences. If they do, there must be dire consequences.

If your business really makes a mistake or is doing something wrong, negative reviews can be positive, helping your business to improve. They might also give you a chance to tell your side of the story. When a lawyer posts a one-star review saying we are unethical, we respond by explaining our office's mission, which is to increase lawyer accountability. We want the public to have access to information to decide on a lawyer. Who they choose doesn't matter to us. We do not make money with the law firm of your choice. We do not receive referral fees.

File lawsuits instead of slandering people

Instead of posting false things about a company, people should file lawsuits (if they truly believe what they are saying is true). Above. People know they could never convince a judge they're right, so they just post it on Reddit. Reddit feeds on drama, so they're unlikely to remove posts.

Many companies also don't file lawsuits, because it's difficult to calculate the dollar value of damages resulting from a negative online review. What is the dollar amount for someone who tells you that you are an online fraud? Most people just guess, but that doesn't work for the judges. Many slanderers get away with this. Once I'm done fighting attorney liability, maybe I'll come up with some technology to spot fake reviews online.

Author: Alistair Vigier is CEO offreeway law, a company that wants to change the legal industry through lawyer reviews and a forum for legal issues.

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