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Tuesday, October 10, 2006
A good reason to be careful what you say
Link: Courts are asked to crack down on bloggers *
Maybe Libel Law would be a good topic for one of our future monthly meetings. I'm not trying to scare anyone, because you really don't need to fear threats of libel if you don't say bad things about people that you can't prove to be true.
The beauty of libel law is that Truth is the primary defense against libel. That's how you CYA. Just don't make things up.
And Fair Comment and Criticism (which allows you to review a film and say nasty things about how badly it sucks) is PROTECTED SPEECH. That allows you to have nasty opinions about things.
Good ethics would require you back up hasty generalizations with support, reasons for why you think the film sucks, for instance.
PARODY is generally considered Fair Comment and Criticism. I do believe that usually includes filksongs (bastardized song lyrics) and Fark.com-style "photoshopping" joke sites.
But with the heated nature of online discourse, where folks get sloppy is when they're busy flaming someone who maybe isn't wearing asbestos underwear, and instead of criticism, they start playing the "dozens," or an online variant, essentially saying bad things about someone's mother or parentage, or other exaggerations that are made up completely of whole cloth.
I dunno. Don Rickles gets away with that style of insult, but if it is something that can be fact-checked, it had better be true. If Don Rickles says out loud that someone's mother wears army boots, it is aural and generally considered slander. Libel is a bigger deal, because it has more permanence, and if etched forever on the ethers, Google-searchable, that could add up to a sizable settlement.
So an exaggerated insult COULD be construed as taking from a person her or his good name or reputation, and if it ain't true, that's libel.
For those of you for whom this is pretty basic stuff, or old news, please forgive me for going over old ground. I just figure it's better safe than sorry.
Chris
Link: Courts are asked to crack down on bloggers *
Link: USATODAY.com - Courts are asked to crack down on bloggers, websites.
Link: AsiaMedia :: US: Blogs hit by libel suits.
US: Blogs hit by libel suits
People criticised in online journals fight back, experts fear the impact on free speech
Singapore Straits Times
Thursday, October 5, 2006New York --- Mr Rafe Banks, a lawyer in Georgia, took his ex-client David Milum to court when the latter wrote on his blog that Mr Banks had bribed judges on behalf of drug dealers.
Last January, Mr Milum became the first blogger to lose a libel case in the United States and was ordered to pay US$50,000 (S$79,000) in damages to Mr Banks.
The case is just an example of how blogs are increasingly being targeted by those who feel harmed by attacks on the online journals.
In the past two years, more than 50 lawsuits stemming from postings on blogs and website message boards have been filed in the US, reported USA Today.
The suits have sparked a debate over how the "blogosphere" and its impact on speech and publishing might change libel law.
Legal experts say the lawsuits are challenging a mindset that has long surrounded blogging -- that most bloggers are "judgment-proof" because they are often ordinary citizens who do not have money.
This is unlike traditional media such as newspapers, magazines and television stations.
But the lawsuits by Mr Banks and others were undertaken not with the sole purpose of claiming damages, but also to silence their critics.
"Bloggers did not think they could be subject to libel," said Mr Eric Robinson, a Media Law Resource Centre attorney. "You take what is on your mind, type it and post it."
Mr Robert Cox, founder and president of the Media Bloggers Association, which has 1,000 members, told USA Today the recent wave of lawsuits means that bloggers should learn libel law.
"It has not happened yet, but soon, there will be a blogger who is successfully sued and who loses his home," he said.
[...]
October 10, 2006 at 06:52 PM in Chris B, Citizen Journalism, Discuss!, Ethics, Legal Issues | Permalink
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