Can you go to jail for negative SEO?

by 18 replies
21
I am just curious if it's possible to get into serious trouble for negative SEO because people always reference certain seo "tactics" as illegal...

thanks.
#search engine optimization #jail #negative #seo
  • No I don't think so, negative SEO will not rank your website in the top but it won't take you to the jail
  • More and more people are being charged with harassment, spam, and other crimes committed over the Internet.

    I can envision the day, if it's not already here, when negative SEO attacks could be considered harassment, bullying, theft (in a sense), conspiracy to damage someone's business, etc. and the perpetrator be charged and jailed.

    Mark

    • [1] reply
    • I dont think you would go to jail, but your page ranking would definetly suffer, and you would be punished by google updates
  • I think yes , you won't go to jail but the site for which you will do tank and also if, that will not tank ,then you will be wasting your time in doing negative SEO.
  • Currently the answer is no.

    But like what was said above, there may be changes to some laws and you could possibly go to jail in the future for negative SEO towards a website.

    Just use a VPN and be safe
  • Agreed. If you're playing the negative game you're always one-step behind.

    Better to root out what's not working for you and fix it.
    • [1] reply
    • I heard there are some countries that have forbidden similar IT rules.

      Kidding.

      Even if you wish to go with negative SEO on your competitor, it's not worth it. You will only lose your time.

      If you wish to get a bad review removed from google, there are many companies that do that without negative seo. (Can help with that)
  • If someone can prove you damaged their business, of course you can get into serious trouble. Life has consequences.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • There are laws against that kind of activity, if not specific about online
      businesses. If a business suffered damage due to your lies and deceit, I
      guarantee there would be a lawsuit. You don't need a law to be sued
      and lose your shirt.

      You would have to have a real biz, not some IM crap.

      In the US, the FTC has rules against unfair and deceptive acts or
      practices in commerce.

      But google is under no obligation to put any site first. That's why any negative
      seo would be a nonissue. Google is not responsible for your business. If your
      website was dealing in "commerce," might be a different story but I doubt it.

      Paul
  • No, but you can go to a-hole jail for doing that!

    In all seriousness you may be financially liable for the damages if they can prove it was you, and that may be significant depending on the niche.
  • Not very likely, but I guess it depends on the laws of the country.

    Could blog comment or trackback spam be seen as a way of trying to create a denial of service attack?
  • I don't think there are any specifically applicable laws. But there are a bunch of commercial interference things that could be repurposed. I wouldn't want to be a test case.
  • Well Google pushed saying Neg SEO didn't exist, then they said oh it does but it can't hurt your site because they have an AI algo that can spot attacks and protect you

    So I would use Matt Cutts as your star witness if anyone ever was taken to court.
  • It's unethical. Just don't do it. Rather than focusing on negativity in any respect, focus on helping others, making your own site worthy of respect and creating integrity and honesty for yourself. You'll get more traffic, and a good following.

    If I knew someone was using negative SEO tactics to knock someone else's site down, I would definitely not want to have anything to do with them.
  • Most laws are built around immoral=illegal

    Yes there are laws for that:
    Unfair competition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Banned
    • [1] reply
    • You're probably more likely to get in trouble in civil court than criminal court... for now.
  • Probably not jail, but if someone who had a legitimate business and was hurt by your negative SEO, I think if they could prove it was you (unlikely) then there could be legal action they could raise against you.
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