Classification of the Decision
The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main dealt with the question of whether services aimed at removing or disputing Google reviews qualify as legal services within the meaning of the Legal Services Act (RDG). The decisive factor was not the designation of the offered product or the provider’s outward presentation, but the actual content of the activity, i.e., whether an independent legal examination and an interest representation for third parties based on that examination takes place.
RDG as the Relevant Examination Standard
Purpose and Protective Direction of the RDG
The RDG links the provision of certain services to legal requirements. The background is that handling matters on behalf of others, insofar as it requires legal examination, can typically have significant impacts on the legal positions of affected persons and companies. The law, therefore, subjects such activities to a regulated framework.
Distinction: Organizational Support vs. Legal Examination
According to the court’s assessment, it depends on whether the activity is limited to purely technical or organizational assistance or whether it necessarily requires a legal evaluation. If, for instance, it is assessed whether a review is inadmissible, whether claims exist, or what objections can be raised against the platform operator or author, this can constitute a legal examination. In this case, the service goes beyond purely factual support.
Subject of the Proceedings
Service Offer in the Context of Google Reviews
In the underlying proceedings, an offer aimed at taking action against Google reviews was at issue. Central was the question of whether the activity merely represents standardized procedures or whether it is based on a case-specific evaluation that requires legal subsumption.
Competition Law Framework
The classification as a legal service was also significant because violations of the RDG can have competition law consequences. Accordingly, the unauthorized provision of legal services can also be assessed as a market conduct violation, which can trigger civil claims.
Key Considerations of the Higher Regional Court Frankfurt am Main
Decisive: Content-Based Characterization of the Activity
The court’s assessment focused on whether the approach to reviews requires an examination that goes beyond schematic processing. If contents are legally classified, for instance, in relation to assertions of fact, value judgments, defamatory criticism, or statements damaging to business, a legal evaluation is regularly required. Such an activity may require a permit according to the standards of the RDG.
Standardization Does Not Necessarily Protect Against RDG Relevance
To the extent that services are cast into fixed processes or described with terms such as “Reporting” or “Complaint,” this is not decisive according to the judicial perspective. Even standardized steps can contain a legal examination if they require the selection, justification, or classification of grounds for complaint, thus handling another’s legal matter.
Relevance of Representation of Interests Toward Third Parties
Another important aspect is that the provider acts towards third parties – especially the platform operator – to achieve the removal or restriction of a review. If a legally justified position is asserted for a client in this context, it can characterize the nature of a legal service.
Significance for Companies and Market Participants
Compliance Risks in Outsourced Review Processes
The decision highlights that services related to online reviews should not be assessed solely as communication or reputation management. As far as such offers contain legal substance, the RDG classification can have significant implications. This affects both providers of such services and companies that utilize such offers.
Competition Law Disputes as Subsequent Issues
Since RDG violations can play a role in market behavior, disputes are often not limited to the relationship between service providers and clients. Rather, competitors or other entitled parties can assert competition law-related injunctions and claims for consequences, provided the legal requirements are met.
Source Reference and Status of Proceedings
The preceding statements refer to the reporting on the decision of the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main in connection with the approach against Google reviews and classification under the Legal Services Act, available at: https://urteile.news/OLG-Frankfurt-am-Main_16-U-225_Services-in-Connection-with-the-Approach-Against-Google-Reviews-Fall-under-the-Legal-Services-Act~N35898. To the extent that further proceedings are pending in comparable situations or different factual starting points exist, it should be noted that the specific case is decisive in each instance.
Transition: Legal Classification in the Competitive Environment
Companies, investors, and affluent private individuals frequently face not only communicative but also competition law issues in dealing with reviews – particularly where third-party offers are positioned at the interface between reputation management and services requiring permission. If there is a need for clarification in this regard, MTR Legal Attorneys offer further information on Legal Advice in Competition Law.
