Listings and recommendation app Yelp has been cleared by the US federal Trade Commission (FTC) of manipulating its content in favour of its advertisers following an investigation that began early in 2014. This is the second time that FTC has looked at Yelp’s advertising practices and taken no further action.

The FTC looked into Yelp’s recommendation software, what is says to businesses about it, what its salespeople say about its advertising programs, and how it ensures that its employees are not able to manipulate the ratings and reviews that Yelp display. After nearly a year of scrutiny, the FTC decided to close its investigation without taking further action.

The investigation began after the FTC received complaints regarding Yelp’s business practices, many of which appeared to be from businesses that were not happy with their ratings or reviews on Yelp. Separately, some business have brought their own legal cases against Yelp, alleging that the company favoured advertisers over non-advertisers. Yelp has yes to lose any of these cases.

In a blog post, Yelp’s VP, communications and public affairs, Vince S, says: “The reason millions of people around the world use Yelp every day to find great local businesses is because they trust the content. That’s why we take so many steps to prevent gaming of our system and to protect consumers and business owners alike – and why we would never do anything to jeopardize that trust.