By Adrian Middleton · Sunday, October 4, 2026
Two doors
Every Google Business Profile owner knows the flag. You click the three dots, choose a policy, and wait. For spam and off-topic content it sometimes works. For a review that accuses you of fraud or malpractice, it almost never does, because Google's reviewers cannot tell from the review alone that the statement is false.
The second door is Google's legal removal request. It asks for the specific statements, why they are defamatory, and supporting material, and it is reviewed by a different team. A request filed by a law firm with the evaluation, the evidence that the statements are false, and the demand letter already sent to the poster is a different submission from a flag.
The order we use
- Evaluate. Fact or opinion, true or false, identified, published, harmful. In writing.
- Preserve. A PDF of the review with the URL and date, and a screenshot of the reviewer's profile. Reviewers delete and edit once they are contacted.
- Demand. A cease-and-desist and retraction letter to the poster. Many reviews disappear at this step, because most posters do not want to be defendants.
- File with Google. The legal removal request, with everything above attached.
- Escalate. If Google declines and the poster refuses, a lawsuit and, if needed, a subpoena to Google to identify an anonymous account.
What you should not do
- Do not reply angrily or at length. Your reply is read by future customers, and anything you say about the reviewer can become its own claim against you.
- Do not offer money to remove the review. It reads as an admission and is against Google's policies.
- Do not let employees or friends post counter-reviews. Google detects it and penalises the profile.
On a plan, each Google review is one assignment. Upload the screenshot and the firm starts at step one.
This article is general information about defamation law, not legal advice about your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Sword & Shield, PLLC.