A cease and desist letter is designed to produce a fast reaction, and the fast reactions, firing back, deleting everything, ignoring it, or caving, are usually the wrong ones. This guide is written for the person holding the letter. Read it before you do anything.
A cease and desist letter is one person's written demand that you stop doing something: publishing a statement, contacting them, using a photo or a name. It is not a court order. Nobody has signed it but the sender or their lawyer, no judge has reviewed it, and it cannot by itself force you to do anything, fine you, or put anything on your record. There is no "record." It is not filed anywhere and does not appear on a background check.
What it is is notice. From the date you received it, you can no longer say you didn't know the other side considered the conduct wrongful. If the matter ever reaches a court, that date matters: continuing after notice looks like a choice, and in a defamation case it goes to damages and to whether your conduct was knowing.
Read it twice. Identify exactly what conduct it describes and exactly what it demands. A well-drafted letter quotes specific statements with dates and URLs and asks for specific things by a specific date. A vague letter, "stop harassing my client" with no dates, no quotes, tells you something about how strong the sender's position is.
Check who sent it. If it's from a law firm, verify the attorney exists: New York's court system runs a free online attorney registration search. A real attorney's letter will name the attorney, the firm, and an address. A letter from a "legal department" with no name is a template.
The instinct is to take the post down and delete the messages. Taking a post down may well be the right decision, see below, but deleting the underlying evidence is not. If the letter includes a preservation demand (most attorney letters do), destroying messages, posts, or account data after receiving it can itself become a problem in any later case, separate from whatever the original dispute was. Screenshot everything, including the letter, and keep it.
Is the conduct described something you should actually stop? Three situations come up constantly in New York:
You said something false about a person, as a fact. "He stole from his clients." "She has a drug problem." "They're being investigated." If it is a statement of fact and it isn't true, you are on the wrong side of this, and the letter is the cheapest exit you will be offered. Delete it, send a short written confirmation, and stop. A retraction is almost always less painful than the alternative.
You said something true, or stated an opinion. Truth is a complete defense to defamation in New York. So is opinion, "in my experience this contractor was a nightmare" is not a provable fact, and courts treat it as protected. A genuine review of a business you actually dealt with is, in addition, speech on a matter of public interest, which New York's anti-SLAPP law (Civil Rights Law § 76-a) protects specifically. If the letter is trying to silence an honest review or an opinion, you may have more leverage than the sender: a lawsuit over protected speech can expose the plaintiff to your attorney's fees under § 70-a.
The letter is about contact, not speech. If someone has asked you in writing to stop contacting them, stop. There is no version of continued contact after a written request that helps you, and in New York repeated unwanted contact after a demand to stop is how harassment cases get made.
Silence is a legitimate option if the letter is baseless, but a short, calm written reply is usually better: it shows good faith, it closes off the "they ignored us" narrative, and it costs you nothing. Keep it to facts. Do not argue the merits at length, do not insult the sender, do not make admissions you haven't thought through, and do not promise anything you won't do. "I received your letter dated August 3. The post you reference was removed on August 5. I do not agree with the characterization in your letter and reserve all rights" is a complete response.
If the letter comes from an attorney, concerns your business, mentions a specific dollar figure, or threatens a lawsuit with a short deadline, have a lawyer read it before you reply. A one-time review is inexpensive compared to an answer that creates an admission. Hochman Law PC handles consultations on received letters; if you are the one who needs to send a letter, that is a different page.
No. It is not a court order and cannot compel you to do anything by itself. It creates notice: from the date you received it, continuing the conduct is a knowing choice, which matters if the dispute later reaches a court.
No. It is private correspondence between the parties. It is not filed with a court, does not appear on a background check, and creates no public record of any kind.
Nothing automatic. The sender's next move, if they have a real claim, is a lawsuit or a complaint. An ignored attorney letter also becomes their evidence that you were on notice and kept going. Ignoring a baseless letter is defensible; ignoring a well-founded one is expensive.
Sometimes. If it was sent to silence protected speech, an honest review, an opinion, commentary on a public matter. New York's anti-SLAPP law can shift the sender's attorney's fees to you if they sue. Keep the letter.
Often yes, as a practical matter, if the post has little value to you and the fight has real cost. Taking it down is not an admission. Deleting the evidence behind it, after a preservation demand, is a different thing, don't.