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2006-11-21 19:53:07
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|7030|PNW

I found something that might be of particular relevance to some of the posts I've seen in BF2S:

SAN JOSE, California: Web sites that publish inflammatory information written by other parties cannot be sued for libel, the California Supreme Court has ruled.

The ruling late Monday was a victory for a San Diego woman who was sued by two doctors who had complained that she had posted a libelous e-mail on two Web sites.

Some of the Internet's biggest names, including Amazon.com, AOL, eBay, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, took the defendant's side out of concern that a ruling against her would expose them to liability.

In reversing an appellate court's decision, the State Supreme Court ruled that the Communications Decency Act of 1996 provided broad immunity from defamation lawsuits for people who published information on the Internet that was gathered from another source.

"By declaring that no 'user' may be treated as a publisher of third party content, Congress has comprehensively immunized republication by individual Internet users," the high court said.

cont'd
Discuss.
2006-11-21 20:39:49
Turquoise
O Canada
+1,596|6663|North Carolina
That's really screwed up.  So, basically, I can lie all I want to on the internet?

That explains Newsmax pretty well, actually....
2006-11-21 20:43:59
Bubbalo
The Lizzard
+541|6819
Nope.  But you can post someone else's lies.
2006-11-21 20:47:11
TeamZephyr
Maintaining My Rage Since 1975
+124|6787|Hillside, Melbourne, Australia
Strange, libel covers defamation said in the permanent form and the internet is a permanent form.

Good to see the big name companies trying their best to influence the decision of the court as well.
2006-11-21 21:01:21
Bubbalo
The Lizzard
+541|6819
Oh, yes, how dare they fund legal representation!  What monsters!
2006-11-21 21:12:30
TeamZephyr
Maintaining My Rage Since 1975
+124|6787|Hillside, Melbourne, Australia

Bubbalo wrote:

Oh, yes, how dare they fund legal representation!  What monsters!
Thanks very much smart arse, but as it states in the article their sole purpose for defending the woman was because THEY might be exposed to some kind of liability (no idea how, whatever someone writes on the web is not the responsiblity of the ISP).

The companies participation in this case was purely out of self interest, if they actually had the intention to help the woman.

They helped influence the decision of the court to say that the internet is not a permanent form, so libel does not count, even though the internet is probably the most permanent communication tool that we have. So the court found a small loophole so that the companies would not be liable for future lawsuits.
2006-11-21 21:19:19
13rin
Member
+977|6737
I guess they figured it like this:

I own a wall.

Some jerkoff comes along and spray paints "Sally is a slult", or "Dan blows monkeys" on my wall.

Then Sally or Dan comes along and sues the me (I own the wall) claiming it is my responsibility to take it down off the wall.  Hell -I didn't do it, why should I be held accountable for the jerk off?

I kinda see where they are coming from.
I stood in line for four hours. They better give me a Wal-Mart gift card, or something.  - Rodney Booker, Job Fair attendee.
2006-11-21 22:01:12
Bubbalo
The Lizzard
+541|6819

TeamZephyr wrote:

Thanks very much smart arse, but as it states in the article their sole purpose for defending the woman was because THEY might be exposed to some kind of liability (no idea how, whatever someone writes on the web is not the responsiblity of the ISP)
Apart from the fact that AOL is the only service provider listed.................

You do understand what precedent is?  And I honestly don't see the outrage either way.  Lawyers recieve money for defending viewpoints.  That's their job.

Also, you clearly didn't read the article: the decision was that content published by a user which was not their own could not result in them being sued.  By your logic, newspapers could be sued for views expressed in letters to the editor.

Last edited by Bubbalo (2006-11-21 22:03:01)

 

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