Business Owner Threatening Me With Legal Action For A Reddit Post....

• Location: New York State

I recently did business with a tattoo removal business. The business is owned by a single woman. Basically what happened was the first session went...alright? She was almost 30 minutes late to our agreed upon time and I felt rushed through the whole thing. However, I ticked in the paperwork beforehand that I didn't want photos taken or stored anywhere of the removal. After the first session I got a text that my photos had been uploaded to some cloud and that I could get a login and see the photo.

I sent an email asking why I got a text that my photos had been uploaded to some cloud when I didn't consent to them being shared. She replied in a very curt way stating that I was the only one with access to it but not explaining what it was. I thought the reply was rude and unprofessional, she didn't explain why (apparently, it's a HIPPA thing, she did not ever mention that in our correspondence).

I responded that if the photo is not removed I'd be looking for somewhere else. She quickly responded back with a long reply stating it was nice working with me and to feel free to move on. I was rather taken aback but I did move on and I asked a few other businesses and found out it was a requirement from HIPPA to do the photos. So, I sent her back an email apologizing and asked if we could still go about business. She refused, which I accepted and moved on. This is where I went asking for opinions on Reddit in my area.

Well, she found the post and put two and two together and figured out I was asking around for others opinions. I never mentioned her shop by name, just said what road it was on and that I found the experience to be bad.

I got an email today, a cease and retract demand from her saying I was spreading false information about her that was harming her business and she threatened to report me to Reddit and then threatened me with legal action for stating a very brief opinion (ie, "hey guys, I had a bad experience with the shop on blank road, any suggestions for other options?") and that if I don't remove the post and publish a retraction within 2 days that she will pursue legal action.

I considered just deleting it but apart of me feels like if I delete my post this woman wins in silencing me and other people who are simply stating an experience with her. She gave me a bad vibe from the start and now I really regret ever doing business with her. I don't think this woman has a leg to stand on and is just threatening me but figured I'd ask on here for others opinions. I noticed she only has one bad review from 2 years ago, and has less than 100 reviews when you look up her business. I never even left a review on her Google business so... it makes me wonder now if there have been others that had bad experiences that she threatened and they removed their review.