TripAdvisor Statement on Libel Controversy - Wesley Barnes vs. Sea View Koh Chang Resort

A US man is facing two years jail time in Thailand after posting negative reviews on TripAdvisor about the hotel at which he stayed.

TripAdvisor has responded to the incident of Wesley Barnes posting negative reviews on Sea View Koh Chang's Tripadvisor account. He was sued by the resort's owner and may face up two years jail time. Barnes has already been held in custody between the 12th - 14th of September, 2020 at a local prison in Koh Chang He was released on bail.

TripAdvisor's statement

"Tripadvisor is opposed to the idea that a traveler can be prosecuted for expressing opinions. Thankfully, on a global basis, prosecutions like this are rare and hundreds of millions of travelers are able to express themselves freely without facing criminal charges.

Tripadvisor was created on the premise that consumers have the right to write about their first hand traveling or dining experiences - good or bad - as those reviews are one of the most powerful ways to enable others to find all that is good out there in this world.

Travelers benefit from the transparency of hundreds of millions of candid reviews provided on our platform. Similarly, the platform allows hoteliers and other travel-related businesses to reply to criticism and engage travelers in what we hope are meaningful and positive dialogues.

We continue to support our users' right to give honest, positive or negative, constructive feedback to the millions of businesses on our site. We are continuing our investigation into this incident and have reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Thailand."

The next court appointment for Wesley Barns will be on the 6th of October, 2020.