Multiversal Enterprises-Mammoth Properties, LLC v. Yelp Inc.

BACKGROUND

We take the pertinent preliminary facts from our prior opinion in this matter, Demetriades v. Yelp, Inc. (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 294. A. Yelp’s Web site Yelp operates a free social media Web site and search engine that is available to the public and has no registration requirement. Users who do register may post reviews about local businesses on the site using a five-star rating system. Yelp’s Web site draws tens of millions of people each month who search for and review the public ratings of businesses. Yelp sells advertising on its site to generate revenue. Yelp constantly battles the problem of unreliable reviews, which generally are paid reviews, negative reviews written by business competitors, or biased reviews written by friends, employees or relatives of the business being reviewed. Yelp

2 developed filtering software with the aim of identifying reviews likely to be unreliable. It started using the filter in 2005 and employs a team of engineers to monitor and improve it. The Yelp filter applies uniform rules to all reviews and does not favor advertisers over nonadvertisers. Yelp does not use filtered reviews in calculating a business’s rating, and they do…