Online reputation: false posts, reviews and copied content

• Screenshots with the web address, date and time, and a saved copy of the page.
• The author's name or profile, if it is visible.
• For copyright: proof that you created or own the work, with dates, and the web address of each copy.
• For a review dispute: the contract or terms you signed and the history of the dispute.
• Proof that the statement is false: invoices, emails, records.
• Proof of harm that you can document, such as lost orders.
• Copies of every report, notice and reply, with dates.

• Sending a copyright notice for material you do not own: a knowingly false notice makes the sender liable for damages, costs and attorneys' fees (17 U.S.C. 512(f)).
• Waiting: in New Jersey a libel claim must be made within one year of the date of publication (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-3).
• Skipping the Texas written request: a person may sue for defamation only after one is made, and without one within 90 days exemplary damages are lost (73.055).
• Naming the platform as the defendant: it is generally not treated as the publisher of a user's post (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1)).
• Expecting erasure of a news article under the GDPR: erasure does not apply to the extent processing is necessary for freedom of expression and information (Art. 17(3)(a)).

• Counterfeit listings or trademark disputes: see Trademark and copyright.
• A seller account suspended on Amazon or Etsy: see Amazon and Etsy account suspensions.
• A review clause or non-disparagement term in a business contract: see Contracts and partnerships.
• Content that needs a Turkish court: see Turkish-law matters.

Who this is for

• Business owners facing a false or fake review on a review site or marketplace.
• People and companies named in a defamatory post, article or comment.
• Owners of photos, text or product listings that someone copied and posted.
• Individuals in the EU whose personal data appears online and who want to ask for erasure.

Key requirements

• Platforms: a provider of an interactive computer service is not treated as the publisher or speaker of information provided by another content provider (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1)). Good-faith moderation is protected too (230(c)(2)(A)). So removal usually runs through the platform's own policy, or through a claim against the author.
• Copyright notice: a notice to a platform must be a written communication, signed, that identifies the copyrighted work and states, under penalty of perjury, that the information in it is accurate (17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)(A)). It covers copyright, not defamation. Section 230 does not limit or expand intellectual property law (47 U.S.C. 230(e)(2)).
• False notices: anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing is liable for the damages, costs and attorneys' fees this causes (17 U.S.C. 512(f)).
• Counter-notice: a poster whose material was removed can send a counter-notification. The platform must then restore the material not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days after it receives the counter-notice, unless the complainant first tells the platform that it has filed a court action (17 U.S.C. 512(g)(2)(C) and (g)(3)).
• Reviews: a provision in a form contract that bars or penalizes honest reviews is void, and offering such a contract is unlawful (15 U.S.C. 45b(b)(1) and (c)). The FTC and state attorneys general enforce it (45b(d) and (e)). The Act does not affect a claim for defamation, libel or slander (45b(b)(2)(B)).
• Time limits: Texas, one year after the claim accrues (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.002(a)); New York, one year (CPLR 215(3)); New Jersey, one year from the date of publication (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-3). Other states set their own periods.
• Texas correction request: a person may sue for defamation only after a timely and sufficient written request for a correction, clarification or retraction, or if the defendant has made one (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 73.055(a)). If the person does not ask within 90 days after learning of the publication, the person may not recover exemplary damages (73.055(c)). This applies to electronic transmissions too (73.054(b)).
• EU erasure: a person can ask a controller to erase personal data on listed grounds, for example where the data were unlawfully processed (GDPR Art. 17(1)(d)). Erasure does not apply to the extent processing is necessary for the right of freedom of expression and information (Art. 17(3)(a)). The controller must act within one month, extendable by two further months (Art. 12(3)).

What to check with an attorney

• What the content is: a false statement of fact, an honest opinion, copied material or personal data.
• Who wrote it, and whether the author is known.
• Whether you own the copyright in the material.
• Whether a review clause in a contract is part of the problem.
• Which state's time limit applies, and the date it started.
• Whether EU data-protection law applies to the data.

Sources reviewed 13 Nov 2026. Sources below.

Official sources:

1. 17 U.S.C. 512: Limitations on liability relating to material online (notice, counter-notice, misrepresentation)
2. 47 U.S.C. 230: Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material
3. 15 U.S.C. 45b: Consumer Review Fairness Act
4. EU General Data Protection Regulation (EUR-Lex), Arts. 12 and 17
5. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.002: One-year limitations period
6. New York CPLR 215: Actions to be commenced within one year
7. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-3, one-year limit for libel, as applied in NuWave Investment Corp. v. Hyman Beck & Co., No. A-81-13 (N.J. 2015)
8. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 73, Subchapter B: Defamation Mitigation Act (73.054, 73.055)

What changed: new page on copyright notices, platform liability, review law and defamation deadlines.