Legal Disclaimer

Views expressed are opinions. Not responsible for other's views, opinions, comments, or statements of fact.

Now that the legal mumbo jumbo is outta the way...

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Defamation Law on the Internet

This question has arisen lately due to many individuals making outlandish accusations regarding the Tea Party movement and it's intentions.

Namely, that the tea party will be arresting it's opposition and putting them in "internment camps". Taking away rights. Marching to the White House to arrest the president or worse.

Sane people, regardless of whether you like or agree with anything the tea party stands for, know these accusations to be untrue and just a product of the far left fringe attempting to discredit the tea party in the lead up to the November elections. Google tea party camps and you'll immediately see links leading to the usual suspects, Media Matters, Center for American Progress, and more similar progressive sites who may be encouraging and some say pay, people to use any means to attack the reputation of the tea party movement.

So just for the record, you "trolls" may want to study these two analyses including one case.

http://www.responsibilityproject.com/blog/taking-twitter-to-court/?src=keyword_s=ggl_K=DefamationOnline_C=Law_G=NewMedia_Defame_M=broad#fbid=C8_iURjkfcw

In a case straight from the uncharted cyber-territory of social networking and personal responsibility, a Chicago renter is being sued by her former landlord for referring to her apartment as “moldy” in a message she sent to a friend. Because the renter transmitted the message using the micro-blogging service Twitter, her landlord accused her of “maliciously and wrongfully” defaming his company “throughout the world.”

http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1874

The law of Defamation has come under renewed scrutiny with the advent of the Internet. This is largely because it is the nature of the Internet to give the average, anonymous person an opportunity to express their opinion well-beyond any previously defined venue. Consider the fact that a person of modest means now has the ability to publish a statement, article, or news item across the world in an instant, without an editor checking the facts. Thereafter, the item will linger on the 'Net for months, or even years, impossible to recover and amend, if the "facts" are erroneous. Therefore, it is inevitable that problems are going to arise.

The main issue to remember when dealing with the Internet is that people still have their basic legal rights intact on the Net, and - likewise - the Internet is not as completely anonymous as the typical person may presumes.

11 comments:

off the reservation said...

You might want to consider putting the following at the top of your blog main page in small, but readable font:

"Views expressed are opinions. Not responsible for other's views, opinions, comments, or statements of fact."

Auntie Em said...

Good Idea! Done.

J Cooper said...

EM's going down,EM's going down....

Defamation,Defamation...

Black SUV's, Black copters...

5 o'clock news

butt nocomment neckid said...

oh! COOP...you left the do' wide open...you shouldn't do dat!

it's a good thing the batteries in my pacemaker need chargin' or I would git in trubble....




code:eyeputud

off the reservation said...

GREAT!!!! Now I can really go HOG-WILD!

Oh crap! Black SUV on my 6! Coop!! GET EM OFF ME!!!

Auntie Em said...

ah geez

Someone at work asked me who butt neckid was. Guess my blog if getting around.

Or was that the Federal Marshall????

Auntie Em said...

Here, ya'll go say hello and be nice.

http://theprofessionalamateurguy.blogspot.com

off the reservation said...

Auntie Em,

Watch your back! We are all too far apart to watch each others back properly.

Watch out for the SEIU. There is a lot of pressure for them to disrupt and defraud elections this cycle.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/23/voter-fraud-houston-tea-party-truethevote-texas/?test=latestnews

That topic has been in some of the local news down here in Texas. There is rampant voter fraud crime going on in Houston and the media is doing everything to bury it. Took almost 30 days before even one media outlet would report it. One report about the warehouse being burned down because of the investigation got squelched quickly in the Houston paper. The liberal rag in Austin has just ignored it. The Unions are far more insidious than the average person realizes.

off the reservation said...

Auntie Em,

Tried to post a comment with the professional amateur but his site there will not allow "off the reservation" as a handle.

butt hidinout neckid said...

U.S. MARSHALL service don't scare me!!!!!

now the SEIU that's scarey!!!!





code: truddlyr

Auntie Em said...

Sorry OTR, I fixed it! Anonymous posters were blocked.