which are often the recipients of messages with derogatory content. A recent German decision25 has a different point of view. A holiday resort on the Baltic Sea, with around four thousand rooms, received negative reviews that appeared on a major portal and many of these comments were signed with a nickname, thus unsuitable to identify the authors. Doubting the validity of the reviews, the company asked the portal operator to delete them. The latter refused, since, in his opinion, the criticism was based on an accurate representation of the facts, in some cases corroborated by images. The tour operator’s argument was upheld in the second instance. Negative evaluations can be false, even if criticism is precise, indicating specific defects, such as the presence of stains on the furniture or sofas. Therefore, according to the ruling, despite the detailed description, the telematic system operator should have verified that the perpetrators had been guests in the village during the stated period. The solution was confirmed26. Now, the managers of the portals should respond to the claims of the assessed establishments or, in case of doubt, identify the reviewer and, in default, proceed to delete the message. According to German case law, the establishment may request this verification if it considers that there was no contact with the author of the derogatory comment. The site manager must prove the connection, because, for example, the reviewer was staying there or had used the restaurant for a dinner or had attended a meeting; therefore, he is called upon to examine the reviews after they have been published. Since he can verify the plausibility of negative ones, at the instance of the establishment, he must write to the author to determine whether the complaint is justified. In Italy, on 15 January 2025, the Council of Ministers approved the first annual bill for small and medium - sized enterprises. It envisaged new regulations to counter the phenomenon of fake online reviews in the restaurant and tourism sectors and to ensure fair competition. As the text is not yet known, its content has been anticipated by a press release from the Council of Ministers, according to which the new regulation will require verification of the reliability of the review, i. e. whether it was written by a consumer who actually used the service. The customer will be able to issue a reasoned review within fifteen days from the date of use, and the company concerned will be able to request its deletion if the review is found to be false or misleading, or if the comment is no longer relevant, or because two years have elapsed since its publication, or because appropriate measures have been taken to resolve the organisational 25 See BGH 9 August 2022. 26 See BGH 9 August 2022. 28 CHIARA TINCANI
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