united-states privacy
Can 3rd party websites share my personal information without my consent or knowledge?
<p>I have stumbled across a few websites:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.truepeoplesearch.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.truepeoplesearch.com/</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.familytreenow.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.familytreenow.com</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.fastpeoplesearch.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.fastpeoplesearch.com</a></li>
<li>www.truthfinder.com</li>
</ul>

<p>that contain a lot of detailed information about me: </p>

<ul>
<li>my age,  </li>
<li>and all the places I have lived in the U.S.  </li>
<li>possible names  </li>
<li>people I hang out with</li>
<li>email</li>
<li>phone numbers</li>
</ul>

<p>I know that I have never put my addresses anywhere online. In addition, they do share information about my associates (people I hang out with). I understand that you can see who hangs out with whom on Facebook, however, that information in principle can be hidden from public and Facebook shouldn't share it(or whatever)</p>

<p>Is there a way to report websites like this? Can they legally share my information with the public like that? They do allow removal of the information, but I don't want to hunt down all websites and try to remove it manually. </p>

<p>Can I report these websites to U.S. regulators?</p>

<p>The information in telephone books is public. so are postal change-of-address records. So are records of the ownership of real estate. So are vital statistics such as birth records. So are voter registration lists -- i myself purchased a voter registration list (in digital form) for a municipality which showed people's names, addresses, and the years when they voted, when I was a political candidate for local office in NJ. It cost about $100. I believe that many states also make driver's license information available for a fee to marketers. Credit records are available for certain limited purposes, also. No doubt there are other public sources I haven't thought of.</p>

<p>If such a site relies on public records, or other publicly available data, it is not illegal. Many such sites offer to remove names on an opt-out basis, but there is no legal requirement that sites do so. This kind of information is not considered nto be "private facts" under US tort law. </p>

<p>Aside from opting out, if the sites provide that option, I don't think you have any recourse.</p>

<p>One could ask the local legislature to pass a law prohibiting such sites, or making them require consent, similar to the GDPR that the EU has. But I don't know of any such law in the US to date.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Can they legally share my information with the public like that?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes. This is completely legal.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Can I report these websites to U.S. regulators?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You can. But, they wouldn't do anything because the websites aren't violating any laws or regulations.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Is there a way to report websites like this?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You could give them a negative review on Yelp if you wished.</p>
