Review Moderation Policy
Last updated June 2026
Customer reviews on SpartaLabs are open to verified buyers and held for pre-publication moderation. This page is our written, public moderation policy — published in compliance with the FTC's Rule on Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) and the FTC Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255). It applies evenhandedly to positive and negative reviews; we do not filter for sentiment.
Who can leave a review
Only customers with a paid order on SpartaLabs can leave a review, and only for products on that order. We verify this server-side from your order history; we do not accept anonymous reviews, reviews from people who did not buy the product, or reviews offered in exchange for free products, discounts, or other compensation.
Pre-publication moderation
Every submission is held until reviewed by our compliance team — typically 1–2 business days. Reviews are published, returned for revision, or declined based on the criteria below. We do not edit the substance of a review; we either publish it as-written or decline it.
We maintain a written log of each moderation decision and the reason, retained for at least two years.
What we filter for (claim-types, not sentiment)
Because our products are sold For Research Use Only (RUO) — not as drugs, supplements, food, or cosmetics, and not for human consumption — published reviews must not turn the site into evidence of intended human use. We decline reviews that:
• Describe human use, self-administration, dosing, or injection of any product.
• Make medical, therapeutic, diagnostic, or efficacy claims (e.g. "this cured my…", "I lost X pounds", "my joint pain went away").
• Recommend a specific protocol, schedule, dose, route of administration, or stack to other readers.
• Contain personally identifying information about other customers, our staff, or third parties.
• Contain content unlawful where the buyer is located (e.g. promoting use in jurisdictions where the substance is controlled).
• Contain spam, off-topic content, attempted SEO link placement, or content generated to deceive the moderation process (including AI-generated content masquerading as buyer experience).
Negative reviews
We do not decline reviews because they are critical of a product. A 1-star review that complains about packaging, lead time, label accuracy, purity documentation, customer service, or anything else about the buying experience is published the same as a 5-star review. The only basis on which we will decline a negative review is if it triggers one of the claim-type filters above (e.g. "I injected this and it didn't work for my injury" — the issue is the human-use framing, and we would decline a 5-star review with the same framing).
Editing and removal after publication
We do not edit published reviews. We will remove a published review only if (a) the reviewer requests it, (b) we receive a credible legal notice that requires removal, or (c) post-publication facts come to light that would have caused us to decline it under the criteria above (e.g. we later discover the order was refunded as fraudulent). Removals for cause (c) are logged with the reason and retained.
Our responses to reviews
SpartaLabs staff may respond publicly to a review (e.g. to acknowledge a shipping issue or correct a factual claim). Staff responses are clearly labeled as such, do not impersonate other customers, and follow the same claim-type rules above.
Reporting a review
If you believe a published review violates this policy, email info@spartalabs.net with a link to the review and the specific concern. We respond within 2 business days and document the outcome in our moderation log.
Why this policy exists
FDA enforcement (2024–2026) treats human-use language on a seller's own site — including in customer reviews the seller publishes — as evidence of intent to market for human use, which defeats the Research Use Only posture. FTC Rule 16 CFR Part 465 (effective October 2024) makes the selective hiding of negative reviews a separate violation of up to $51,744 per instance. This page documents the substantive rules and the consistent, sentiment-neutral process we apply to comply with both.