Jurisdiction-specific data protection, defamation law, and removal process information for United States. Last reviewed 2025.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at federal level; California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) for California; state attorneys general in states with privacy laws is the supervisory authority for data protection in United States. Individuals can file erasure and data-related complaints directly with this authority.
No single federal privacy law. Key laws: California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA); Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA); Colorado Privacy Act (CPA); Connecticut Data Privacy Act; and 15+ additional state laws
The US has no federal right to erasure. California's CCPA/CPRA, Virginia's VCDPA, Colorado's CPA, and other state laws provide deletion rights to residents of those states. California's law is the most comprehensive â covering businesses meeting revenue or data processing thresholds that handle California residents' data.
US defamation law is primarily state law, but the First Amendment provides the world's strongest press freedom protections. Public figures must prove "actual malice" (knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard) â the New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) standard. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides broad immunity to online platforms for third-party user content.
Content removal in the US relies on: (1) DMCA takedown notices for copyright infringement; (2) Platform terms-of-service violation reports; (3) State-specific privacy deletion requests (especially California CCPA); (4) Court injunctions (harder to obtain due to First Amendment). Section 230 makes direct legal action against platforms exceptionally difficult.
Common US sources requiring removal include local news sites across all 50 states, mugshot removal sites, Yelp, Google Reviews, Glassdoor, Ripoff Report, and data broker sites such as BeenVerified, Spokeo, and Whitepages.
Section 230 of the CDA is the defining feature of US content removal law â it immunises platforms from liability for third-party content, making court-ordered removal from US-based platforms exceptionally difficult compared to any other country. DMCA notices and state privacy law deletion requests (especially California CCPA) are typically far more effective routes.