Yelp Inc: Seeking a report on failures in content governance
WHEREAS: As detailed in its “Trust & Safety Report,” Yelp, Inc. has put significant time and resources into efforts to protect the integrity of its service, reduce the number of false postings on its platform, address false reviews and business vendettas, and manage reviews driven by news articles. However, according to Yelp’s own analysis, the use of false reviews has increased 93% between 2019 and 2020.
Yelp’s current content management systems appear to be insufficient against groups that weaponize Yelp reviews to promote misinformation on critical health and public interest issues and seek to harm organizations that are at odds with their personal or political beliefs, such as reproductive health providers and vaccine providers.
For example, a number of health-care focused establishments have found themselves victimized by negative Yelp reviews after requesting proof of vaccination from their clients. In addition, Planned Parenthood health centers across the U.S. have been dogged by ongoing posting of unsubstantiated and illegitimate “reviews” left by cyber-attackers on their Yelp pages. They have been spammed with hundreds of the exact same review within minutes.
False Yelp reviews may reduce an individual’s willingness to receive needed health care, as well as harm providers through lowered ratings, reduced visits, and employee time-spent reaching out to Yelp seeking remediation. Once an organization has a false review placed on its business page, or pages, Yelp requires each business to manually report each illegitimate user account and/or review. Where providers and businesses targeted with false reviews are unable to undertake this task for significant numbers of false reviews, consumers of their services will likely be harmed. For Yelp, too, dedicating staff time to predictable, recurring vandalism is an inefficient process, increasing operating costs and offering little upside to the organization. Insufficient policies to address weaponized reviews also creates reputational risk and the potential of a regulatory response.
Yelp’s practices vary relative to its peers in its approach to weaponized reviews, but are currently proving ineffective to address this growing problem. It is in the best interest of Yelp, its investors, and our broader society if Yelp takes effective practices to prevent, and is no longer viewed as a venue to make a stance on, personal or political beliefs through false reviews.
BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that the Board conduct a stakeholder harm assessment study related to misinformation and false postings on its platform. A report on the Board's determination of strategically appropriate next steps identified as a result of this study, prepared at reasonable cost and omitting confidential or proprietary information, should be publicly disclosed on Yelp’s website by the end of calendar year 2022.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT: It is recommended that Yelp seek to engage harmed businesses in meaningful discussions about their experiences and desired alternative approaches.
Resolution Details
Company: Yelp Inc
Lead Filers:
As You Sow
Year: 2022
Filing Date:
December 2021
Initiative(s): Media Content
Status: Resolution Withdrawn, Agreement Reached