Don’t let Josh Hawley kill online reviews and my small business for his political gain

A few years ago, I started a small vegan business in Kansas City by doing pop-up booths at festivals. Our customers loved us and told all their digital friends, and soon we were a little bit popular. Next, I started catering and delivery, and now we are looking for space to open a restaurant.

It’s been incredible watching my vegan dream become reality, and I really appreciate that our customers have been so supportive. Online reviews are our best marketing tool. We have thousands of followers on Facebook and Instagram, and hundreds of people have posted positive comments. But now I’m worried that politicians and government lawyers might mess things up for my business by picking a political fight with big internet companies. I’m fighting for my small business and our future restaurant.

Online customer reviews persuade new customers to give us a try. They are the best part of the internet for small businesses, and they’re critical to companies such as Yelp, Tripadvisor, Nextdoor, and even Google and Facebook. What’s amazing is that one little portion of a 20-year-old law — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — is the reason my customers and all our neighbors can speak their minds online about local restaurants, hotels, plumbers and salons. Because of this provision, I can’t sue a website if a customer posts a negative review about my cooking, and politicians can’t sue websites if users criticize those officials online.

So what’s the problem? Oversensitive politicians. Some of them believe that big internet companies, such as Facebook or Twitter, favor one political party or particular political views. They are trying to punish these big firms by making lawsuits against internet companies easier and making them responsible for content posted by users, such as product and restaurant reviews.

I don’t think anyone worries about Facebook or Google getting sued, but I do worry about lawsuits against Yelp and smaller companies that host customer reviews. If those companies need to hire lawyers to read every review before it gets posted, then somebody has to pay for those lawyers. That could mean my Facebook small business page, which today is free, might see new fees imposed — or even worse, some companies may simply eliminate consumer reviews or other third-party content. If Tripadvisor, Yelp and other review sites go out of business, our customers and neighbors will lose their megaphones and small businesses will lose valuable marketing partners.

For some elected officials — like our own Sen. Josh Hawley, who has introduced legislation to amend Section 230 — these internet laws are about politics. But for me, this is about my business and the future restaurant that is my dream. Customer reviews and word of mouth through social media are the reasons our recent pop-ups had long lines of hungry customers. There are tons of options for consumers, and more than half of restaurants fail. But online reviews and social media allow smaller, scrappier businesses like mine to compete.

Consumers will also lose if online reviews disappear, or if the lawyers delete negative reviews to protect hosting websites from getting sued. No one will trust the good reviews if a website never posts any bad reviews, and then restaurant customers will have to determine where to spend their money based on competitors’ advertising budgets instead of what other diners think.

The internet has completely changed how businesses operate. It has leveled the playing field for small businesses, but by meddling with Section 230, politicians are putting all those gains at risk. I don’t mind if Congress wants to fight with Big Tech, but if websites and social media platforms abandon online reviews, then millions of small businesses will be collateral damage.

That’s not right. Lawmakers should consider small businesses before attacking the partners that help us succeed.

Kimberly Vincent is founder and head chef of TopKnotch Vegan Vittles in Kansas City.