We all know the internet can be a harsh place. Trolls everywhere, angry people venting from their bad days at work, people who just like to stir things up and say controversial things… it’s magical really.

And even in spite of this, we all feel free on the interweb. Free to post endless selfies that our friends have long since lost interest in, free to show our love and appreciation of our favourite celebs and their daily goings, and free to slander the things we aren’t that fond of. Well, free until now, that is.

French blogger Caroline Doudet has been ordered to pay damages and to change the title of her article after the owner of the restaurant she gave a bad review took her to court. The restaurateur said that because the article came up fourth in a Google search for the restaurant, Il Giardino, it had caused significant damage to the reputation of the business.

Ms Doudet posted the article almost a year ago after receiving poor service and what she calls a bad attitude from management.  Now we are all for responsible blogging, but if you are not keeping your customers happy, that is not the fault of a year old blog post.

A little less time spent browsing the net for your restaurant and a little more time spent training staff and building up a loyal customer base, perhaps?

Take it or leave it.

Read the full story as well as the suggested legal implications here as reported by BBC.