Want to Write a Scathing Review of a Vendor?
 

You might want to read this story before you do..........

http://news.yahoo.com/woman-gets--3-...233833012.html

Moral of the Story: Read the fine print for online purchases

My wife showed me this on Reddit yesterday. Fined for exercising your first amendment rights. Only one thing for her to do in this case. Lawyer up!

Well that's lame. And it is also kind of sketchy if a company has to make the buyer agree to not write any negative review on the company.

Very shady business practices and possible fraud based on some of actions described in the article...claiming a BBB "A" rating when not true.

But this is not a 1st amendment violation. For it to be a 1st amendment violation, it would have to be the government that was preventing free speech.

"The most basic component of freedom of expression is the right of freedom of speech. The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for the interference with the right of free speech where it attempts to regulate the content of the speech."

(http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/first_amendment)

"Does the First Amendment apply to private companies and organizations?
No. The First Amendment applies to the government — to protect individuals from government censorship. While the text of the First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech,” it means that no federal, state or local government official can infringe on your free-speech rights. A private company is not a government or state and therefore generally is not subject to the requirements of the First Amendment."

(http://1forall.us/about/the-first-amendment)

Okay, so if in my fine print I say, "If you pay the full amount of your outstanding balance, you will be fined $1 trillion that must be then paid in full 30 days later."

Do I get my $1 trillion? Nope

She will win in court, get lots of money and that business will be done in the next year