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I belong to a service very similar to Glassdoor (much more smaller) for a niche in Europe. In this case Portugal. So, the people can:

  • Review companies
  • Review interviews
  • Add new companies

After two years, today we receive the first threat to remove a company from the platform. In our terms we explicitly say:

We disclaim any liability to users of the site, employers listed on the site or any other party, in relation to any claim for loss or damage.

We have a snapshot in wayback machine of our terms page since 2018 to prevent this scenario too.

Also, for instance, Glassdoor say they don't remove any page in any circumstance. They claim the law on their side.

This project is currently mainly an hobby, but growing, so in future I am expecting more similar requests.

My question is if I should worry or just ignore the threat .

If we start removing companies soon many companies will request the same treatment.

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  • "today we receive the first threat to remove a company from the platform" - what does it say? On what grounds do they want the data removed?
    – Lag
    Feb 18 '20 at 21:07
  • @Lag They have no particular reason in this email. Just remove us.
    – anvd
    Feb 18 '20 at 22:31
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Your disclaimer is unlikely to carry much value. If the law says you are right, the disclaimer doesn't help. If the law says you're wrong, the disclaimer doesn't help either.

The correct disclaimer probably would have been along the lines "Any opinion publicised is the opinion of its author, and may or may not reflect the opinion of the ThisSite.pt."

At this point, the company needs to decide whether to go after the author or you. And if they're going after you, they have to show something you did wrong. Publishing someone else's opinion is allowed by law.

One of the problems with the law can be that it's costly to defend yourself, and that disclaimer suggests that you didn't involve a lawyer. So the company who wrote to you may gamble that you failed to do your legal homework, and be scared. That's why Glassdoor is so very explicit and open about its legal defense. It's telling companies "Don't even bother. We have good lawyers".

You can actually use a similar technique. Search for a lawyer that's familiar with this area of law and ask if he's willing to draft a formal response in case you get a formal demand. Then communicate to the company that they may send their formal legal request to that lawyer. Chances are very high that they'll not send a single formal request as soon as they know you have a lawyer.

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  • We also have that in the desclaimer. Thank you
    – anvd
    Feb 18 '20 at 22:33

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