Company Guidelines
These guidelines apply when business representatives, including the brands, manufacturers, sellers, distributors, marketing and public relations agencies, and their employees and officers listed on Viewduc, engage with the service through reviews, ratings, reports, requests to correct information, or other means.
Table of Contents
- 1. Scope and Basic Principles
- 2. Prohibition on Reviews of One’s Own or Competitors’ Products
- 3. Prohibition on Review Incentives
- 4. Fair and Neutral Requests for Reviews
- 5. Prohibition on Pressuring Users to Modify or Delete Reviews
- 6. Proper Use of the Reporting Feature
- 7. Correction of Product and Ingredient Information
- 8. Business Responses and Communications
- 9. Commercial Relationships and Review Independence
- 10. Use of the Viewduc Name and Data
- 11. Measures for Violations
- 12. Appeals and Inquiries
- Frequently Asked Questions
1. Scope and Basic Principles
These guidelines apply to business representatives, including the brands, manufacturers, sellers, distributors, marketing and public relations agencies, and their employees and officers listed on Viewduc, which is provided by Viewduc Insight (the “Company”).
Core Principle
The voices of businesses and consumers must remain separate. Even where a commercial relationship exists, such as advertising or a partnership, no entitlement is granted to have reviews deleted, ratings adjusted, or preferential treatment under operational policies.
2. Prohibition on Reviews of One’s Own or Competitors’ Products
The following conduct is not permitted.
- Posting a review or rating of the business’s own products while pretending to be a consumer, whether by the business itself or its employees and officers
- Having family members, friends, business partners, agencies, influencers, or other third parties write reviews of the business’s own products on its behalf
- Directly writing, or causing others to write, negative reviews to lower a competitor’s ratings
- Manipulating ratings or the number of reviews by using review agencies, account trading, automated tools, or multiple accounts
3. Prohibition on Review Incentives
A business must not provide or offer cash, free products, samples, discounts, coupons, points, cashback, gifts, opportunities to enter sweepstakes, referral bonuses, or any other economic benefit in connection with the writing, modification, or deletion of a Viewduc review.
Even if the review writer labels the content as “sponsored” or “advertisement,” it is not permitted under Viewduc’s general consumer review policy.
4. Fair and Neutral Requests for Reviews
When a business informs customers about writing Viewduc reviews, it must comply with the following principles.
- Do not request an evaluation in a particular direction, such as a “good review” or a “5-star review.”
- Do not selectively request reviews only from satisfied customers while excluding dissatisfied customers (cherry-picking).
- Do not engage in review gating by directing only positive customers to Viewduc and diverting dissatisfied customers to other channels.
- If there is a group of customers from whom reviews are requested, use reasonable and consistent criteria and make neutral requests regardless of the direction or rating of the review.
5. Prohibition on Pressuring Users to Modify or Delete Reviews
- Do not offer refunds, exchanges, compensation, customer support, or discounts on the condition that a review is deleted or modified.
- Do not pressure users to change reviews by improperly implying legal action, refusal of service, or other adverse consequences.
- After an issue has been resolved, a user may voluntarily update a review, but the business must not require the user to change it to specific wording or a specific rating.
6. Proper Use of the Reporting Function
You must not submit a report solely because a review is negative or displeasing. Reports may be submitted only when there is an actual policy violation or infringement of rights, and the same standards apply to positive and negative reviews.
Repeated or organized false reporting, distortion of the grounds for a report, or abuse of the rights-infringement process may be deemed a violation of the policies applicable to businesses.
7. Correction of Product and Ingredient Information
If Viewduc data, including the product name, volume, full ingredient list, brand attribution, or discontinuation status, differs from the facts, please use the product and ingredient information correction request rather than reporting a review. Providing verifiable supporting evidence, such as the official website, product packaging, documents issued by a government agency, or official documents issued by the manufacturer, will assist with the review.
The company may correct information based on verifiable supporting evidence, but it is not obligated to reproduce a business's advertising or marketing language verbatim.
8. Business Responses and Communications
When the business response function is available, please observe the following standards.
- Respond courteously and based on facts, and do not criticize, ridicule, or threaten the author.
- Do not disclose users' personal information, including their real names, contact information, or order details.
- Do not use responses as excessive advertising space or repeatedly post discount codes or promotional links.
- Do not make definitive statements regarding diagnoses or treatment effects for health or medical issues.
9. Commercial Relationships and Review Independence
Even if advertising, affiliate links, data partnerships, or other commercial relationships exist, a business does not thereby acquire the right to demand the deletion of reviews, adjustment of ratings, determinations on reports, exceptions regarding search, ranking, or operating policies. When necessary, the company will disclose advertising and affiliate relationships in a manner that is readily understandable to users.
10. Use of the Viewduc Name and Data
When using Viewduc's logo, screens, ratings, badges, data, or user reviews for external purposes such as advertising, press releases, or packaging, you must comply with the applicable intellectual property rights and separate terms of use. Expressions that selectively use only some reviews or edit screens in a manner that misleads others into believing that the company has officially endorsed the product are not permitted.
11. Measures for Violations
If a violation is confirmed, including review manipulation, provision of incentives, abuse of the reporting function, or pressuring users, the relevant reviews or ratings may be excluded from aggregation, content may be removed, accounts or functions may be restricted, cautionary notices related to the business may be displayed, relevant data may be recalculated, or necessary legal action may be taken. Measures will consider the severity and recurrence of the violation and its impact on the reliability of the service.
12. Objections and Inquiries
If you object to the application of a policy or a measure related to a business, or have an inquiry regarding the correction of product information, you may contact [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
May we ask customers who purchased our products to write a Viewduc review?
You may provide neutral guidance. However, you must not request a specific rating, select only satisfied customers, or provide benefits in exchange for a review.
Is it acceptable to give the same points to every review author because that is fair?
No. Even if the same benefit is provided to every author regardless of whether the review is positive or negative, it is not permitted for a business to link writing a Viewduc review to an economic benefit.
We sent a free sample but did not request a review. May the customer write a review voluntarily?
In Viewduc's general consumer review section, reviews of products or samples provided free of charge by a brand, seller, or other party are not permitted.
How should we handle a negative review that is untrue?
Please report it by specifically stating the grounds for the policy violation or infringement of rights. A review will not be deleted merely because it is negative. Please submit product data errors as an information correction request.
May we ask a reviewer to revise a review after resolving the issue?
You may inform the reviewer that the issue has been resolved and that they may update their experience if they wish. You must not require the reviewer to delete the review or change it to a specific rating as a condition of a refund, compensation, or other benefit.
May a brand employee review the brand's products using a personal account?
No. Even if the employee purchased the product at their own expense, they have a direct interest in the brand's products and must not write a general consumer review.
Does paying advertising fees change how review reports are handled?
No. Advertising, affiliation, or other paid relationships do not give priority regarding the criteria for deleting reviews or decisions on reports.
The product's full ingredient list is registered incorrectly.
Please use the product and ingredient information correction request or send the request, together with official supporting documentation, to [email protected].
