Cost of Minc Law’s Services

For both Non-Litigation and Guaranteed Removal Internet Defamation Matters, your location will not be an issue at all. Not being licensed or located in your state is no way a hurdle or impediment to Minc Law being able to represent you, provide legal services, and get results.

If you have a Litigation Matter, we are still able to represent you. But, if none of our attorneys are licensed in your state, or we have to file something outside of the United States, we will have to work with local counsel who is licensed in your state. This type of arrangement is something we do in almost all of our Litigation Matters.

At Minc Law, we represent individuals from across the United States AND the globe.

For online reputation management services, your location will not be an issue at all. After all, we are helping you take back and improve your ONLINE presence. Not being located in your state is no way a hurdle or impediment to Minc Law being able to suppress and remove negative online content, clean up your digital footprint, and improve your online presence.

At Minc Law, we provide online reputation management services for businesses and individuals from across the United States AND the globe.

Internet defamation refers to a false statement of fact that is published to a third-party on the internet that causes damage to you and your reputation.

Common examples of internet defamation include:

• Fake business and consumer profiles on professional and social networking websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter;
• Defamatory and malicious posts and comments on social networking websites, blogs, forums, and bulletin boards;
• False reviews and information on blogs, comment sections, message boards, and other forums;
• Disparaging and false attacks made by competitors and employees (or former employees);
• Fake consumer complaints and reviews on popular consumer advocacy websites and platforms,
• False write-ups and news articles,
• Defamatory and damaging images and media.

For example, if someone has posted on Yelp falsely accusing your business of having discriminated against them or poisoning them, this will constitute defamation. However, if someone posted on your business’s Facebook profile that your restaurant has a poor hygiene record and your restaurant has consistently received D ratings by local food regulators, then there is likely nothing you can do and this will not constitute defamation.

To file an effective internet defamation lawsuit, there’s numerous considerations that must first be observed, as United States defamation law is always evolving and highly nuanced. When contemplating whether you should file an internet defamation lawsuit, we suggest focusing on the following three things:

• Do not draw unwanted attention to your matter;
• Adhere to your state’s respective defamation filing requirements and formalities;
• Contact an experienced internet defamation attorney to assist you.

If your business is the target of defamatory online attacks, posts, videos, or comments, and you want to file an internet defamation lawsuit, we recommend reaching out to an experienced internet defamation as soon as possible.

You can use these ten tips and tricks to keep track of your digital footprint and ensure that you are putting your best “digital” foot forward for not only future employers and colleagues, but the whole world.

• Google yourself
• Delete unprofessional content
• Create a personal or professional website or blog
• Share relevant industry news and articles via social media
• Keep all online posts and comments positive
• Use proper grammar and punctuation
• Review your privacy settings
• Stop and think before you post
• Create a Google Alert for your name
• De-index dead links and outdated content from search results

We remove internet content from almost anywhere! And we have an extremely high success rate. The content that our internet content removal services include are: Posts and comments on cheater, homewrecker, predator, and shaming websites, Outdated and damaging news articles, Criminal and civil case records, Court pleadings, Consumer reviews, Consumer complaints, Police blotter information, Embarrassing mugshots, Damaging images, videos, and media, Blogs and blog posts. We also offer content removals for internet defamation, revenge pornography, and other damaging internet content. Simply reach out to us to schedule your free, initial no-obligation consultation with an intake specialist today.

When hiring online reputation management companies, you never know what you are going to get. There are numerous ORM scams and snake oil salesmen that overpromise and underdeliver, and cannot be held accountable for their conduct due to either being located abroad or an outright scam altogether.

We at Minc Law know online reputation management, and know what works to effectively suppress negative and damaging online content, bolster your business’s reputation, and remove defamatory content (if needed). We are also ethically and professionally governed by the American Bar Association, so you can rest assured that we are always acting with your best interests in mind.

There is a distinct level of conduct and behavior one can expect when working with a licensed professional, like an attorney, who is subject to a professional code and owes certain duties to a client. Rather than sell a one-size-fits-all solution, we customize tailored online reputation management strategies for your business and can recommend the most effective steps, including legal measures, that are likely to resolve your business’s ORM or defamation issue.

There are a few options when something is re-posted. We can often remove re-posted content again, especially if it’s a duplicate of what was already removed. Sometimes there are additional fees involved and sometimes not depending on your situation.

As of 2019, 46 states, Washington D.C. and Guam all have revenge porn statutes codified in their books criminalizing revenge pornography or associated crimes. Keep in mind that not all states have explicit revenge pornography statutes in place and instead prosecute perpetrators under related statutes such as cyberharassment, invasion of privacy, or unlawful exposure laws. For example, the District of Columbia has a statute in place criminalizing non-consensual pornography and its dissemination, while Georgia prosecutes perpetrators under their invasion of privacy statute.

You can find out further about revenge pornography in the United States and nonconsensual pornography laws by state over at our interactive revenge porn state law map and guide.

In addition to removing revenge pornography and other intimate and sensitive media from websites by DMCA takedown request, court order, or injunction, you can also hold the person who posted the personal images or videos liable for their actions. Generally, you cannot go after the website where it was posted, due to broad protections granted to them under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Whoever posted the offensive content at issue is your primary target. For example, if you are seeking the removal of revenge pornography from YouPorn, sue the person who posted it, not YouPorn. If you want to remove an intimate image from XVideos, sue the Xvideos poster behind its publication.

To protect yourself against online extortion, blackmail, and sextortion, we recommend following these seven steps:

• Make sure to screenshot and preserve all relevant evidence and communications,
• Have a trusted friend or family member support you in the documentation process (as this can help refute claims of evidence tampering by the opposing party),
• Stop engaging with the online blackmailer and cyber extortioner,
• Do not pay them any amount of the ransom or try and negotiate,
• Change up the privacy settings on your social media accounts so that no personal and sensitive information (including contacts) is publicly available,
• Set up a Google Alerts account to receive notifications anytime your name is mentioned online, and
• Contact an experienced internet attorney as soon as possible!

Simply put, don’t respond. It is critical that you refrain from engaging with the online extortionist further.

Online extortionists engage with (likely) dozens of victims at once and look for victims who have the highest likelihood of paying the ransom. And, while it may sound urgent that you pay a ransom within a specified timeframe, we recommend you refrain from engaging with online extortionists further. Stop responding.

The extortionist may subsequently follow up, threatening to release unsavory pictures or videos to your family, friends, or colleagues. Stay strong and don’t give in. Don’t respond, and seek legal help immediately.

You might be thinking, “Well…the initial demand isn’t for that much.” After all, it’s only a few hundred dollars. Paying online blackmailers and extortioners only reaffirms one thing, that you’re an easy victim and will cave when confronted with pressure. Do not pay them and do not engage with them.

This also includes offers to negotiate, as this implies a willingness to bow down to their commands. Victims of extortion and blackmail have more power than they realize.

Cyberstalking and internet harassment are both crimes in the United States. However, the legal code leaves much to be desired and fails to properly differentiate between several differing crimes; cyberstalking, online harassment, and cyberbullying. The core federal anti-cyberstalking law which is most often applied and cited is 47 U.S. Code § 223, which reads:

“(1) Whoever, in interstate or foreign communications, by means of a telecommunications device knowingly, makes, creates, or solicits, and initiates the transmission of, any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene or child pornography, with intent to abuse, threaten, or harass another person…”

Present-day cyberstalking actions are usually criminalized under U.S. anti-harassment, anti-stalking, and surprisingly, slander statutes and laws.

To protect yourself against cyberstalking and online harassment, we recommend the following:

Make sure to preserve and document all evidence – this will ultimately help strengthen your claim,

Install an email and content filtering system – as targeted phishing and malware schemes are common ways by which cyberstalkers and online harassers access personal information,

Don’t respond or retaliate – doing so could actually do more harm than good, and lead to the further dissemination of personal information/photographs and increased harassment,

Understand what actually constitutes cyberstalking and its various defenses – acquainting yourself with a perpetrator’s common defenses could lead to you realizing there is no actionable cyberstalking or online harassment claim, and

Consider tightening up your digital footprint and public online profiles – the less personal information that’s out there, the lesser chance of having personal information and photographs used against you.

Attorneys most commonly identify anonymous online posters by:

• Issuing subpoenas, and
• Tracking IP data.

The number of steps involved in identifying an anonymous poster differs from case to case. Many posters take advantage of their anonymity to be deceptive and misleading. Some savvy posters even take efforts to cover their tracks, hiding behind fake accounts and emails.

Occasionally, the platform where the material was posted will have accurate identifying information for the poster. The process becomes more involved when a poster has hidden their identity through the use of fake names, emails, and accounts. The good news is, you can usually identify those who have tried to hide their identities.

Either way, the first step involves filing a lawsuit. You can file a complaint against “John Doe” before you know the true identity of the poster, based on the nature of the content they posted. With John Doe actions, an alias or username is used in court filings when the defendant’s true name is unknown.

Once you start the legal process with a viable legal claim, you can request subpoenas. A subpoena is a request for information that you can send to any internet platform. In this case, you’ll start by requesting a subpoena for the platform or host of the negative content.

You can read up further by checking out our article on how attorneys identify anonymous persons online.

A John Doe lawsuit is a lawsuit filed against a fictitious person (“John Doe”) in cases where the identity of the defendant is unknown. Simply put, they enable attorneys to utilize the legal process before the anonymous attacker has even been identified. John Doe lawsuits are typically approached as two “distinct lawsuits”:

• Action for discovery purposes,
• Action for relief (post-identification).

John Doe lawsuits enable attorneys to subpoena websites, ISPs, and online platforms to request identifying information about the anonymous defendant, and engage in the discovery process. Once the identity of the anonymous defendant is obtained, attorneys can then obtain relief for clients.

In cases where we have secured multiple data points on an anonymous online individual, the information is “fresh” (and not outdated), and the perpetrator is not a high-level hacker, we can generally identify anonymous individuals 9 times out of 10.