Saturday, May 23, 2009

"Bloggers beware"

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on the increasing use of lawsuits against bloggers:
Bloggers are increasingly getting sued or threatened with legal action for everything from defamation to invasion of privacy to copyright infringement. In 2007 -- the most recent data available -- 106 civil lawsuits against bloggers and others in social networks and online forums were tallied by the Citizen Media Law Project at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, up from just 12 in 2003. There have been about $17.4 million in trial awards against bloggers to date, according to the Media Law Resource Center in New York, a nonprofit clearinghouse that tracks free-speech cases.
Many lawsuits are thrown out of court or settled before trial, but not before causing headaches for the accused. Though the likelihood of a plaintiff winning a lawsuit is not high, "you could go bankrupt" just from defending against them, says Miriam Wugmeister, a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP and a privacy and data-security law expert.
(Note to anyone getting any ideas: I have my own law degree and don't have this problem. I'll be more than happy to stay up til 3:00 AM writing every motion I can legally support.)
The number of blogger lawsuits is likely to keep rising as the number of people who post online continues to grow, says Sandra Baron, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center and a media-law attorney. Social-networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace -- which is owned by News Corp., the parent company of The Wall Street Journal -- and microblogging services like Twitter are making it easy for impetuous remarks to reach thousands of users in a matter of minutes. In March, fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir sued rocker Courtney Love for libel in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing Ms. Love of posting disparaging remarks about the designer on Twitter and MySpace.....
At the same time, companies are increasingly employing automated technology to scour the Internet for copyrighted material and negative remarks. As a result, Web sites that purport to rate everything from college professors to doctors and contractors are being sued by recipients of disparaging reviews, according to the Berkman Center....
Civic gadflies and self-styled watchdogs who accuse local politicians and companies are getting slapped with lawsuits. People who post messages in chat rooms, online forums and blogs can be held liable for invasion of privacy or for making defamatory statements, which are damaging, false statements of fact....."
Article

I've warned a couple of local bloggers about getting sued. Unfortunately they replied they can't get sued, especially for comments made by other people. I think one day they might find out otherwise. Of course, the incentive here will be for bloggers to use screen names and keep their identities private.

16 comments:

HeavyB said...

It would also be incentive for them to stop spreading unsubstantiated bullshit or using copyrighted material without permission. Which I think would be a move in the right direction. A lot of people are getting their information from the internet and if bloggers want to participate in the media they need to held accountable for the public claims they make.

Kingfish said...

Now was that directed at moi?

Anonymous said...

Yada, yada, yada HeavyB.

Anonymous said...

Rudy Warnock has sued an unknown blogger or bloggers in Madison County over posting pictures of him at the Playboy Mansion that, as I understand it, he had posted first on his MySpace page. Poor Rudy.

HeavyB said...

LOL... nooo. Just in general. I didn't even know your blog existed until this week.

Lisa said...

We're losing our free speech. Thanks conservatives.

Kingfish said...

How is it the fault of the conservatives?

If anything its groups like the Gay lobby, the NAACP, and the feminists that want to classify speech they disagree with as hate speech under hate crimes law.

Anonymous said...

Bush did it. Now then, we got that out of the way. Feel better? And it makes doing that still makes it no more the truth than blaming him for kudzu, poison ivy and 3.2 beer.

Lisa said...

It's not. I'm just trying to cause trouble. But, I do feel as if the conservatives want to get in our business too often. I guess I consider myself a Libertarian after being a Republican for so long. As I tell my friends, I didn't leave the Republican party, they left me. The days seem to be gone when democrats and republicans got along and worked together.

HeavyB said...

KF, don't leave the UN out of that list.

Lisa said...

I just don't believe in censorship unless it causes physical harm, etc. That being said, I hate that www.redstate.com blog as linked on this site. But, I'll just choose not to read it.

Anonymous said...

KF, my understanding is that once you become a " public figure", you have very little protection in the law against libel/slander. Also, you are protected if you " believe" something to be true and it isn't so wording for bloggers may matter..." I think", " I feel", " I heard".
Aren't most of these lawsuits about Internet bullying?
The idea a politician or company could use superior resources to frighten or bankrupt critics is very scary indeed. Judges have to power to throw out such suits, but when you elect judges, they fear the consequences of exercising that power.
Also, how much protection is a screen name?

Kingfish said...

I don't think Warnock intends to win the suit for damages, he just wants to find out who's doing this and has the money to do it.

Getting it with these lawsuits is a risk you take in blogging. Some of the things that have appeared on other blogs would never make it here because they are false or libelous. Some bloggers have told me they are protected and one day they are going to find out otherwise.

Lisa said...

Anon 8:07. I think the same thing but being a public figure hasn't stopped people from suing bloggers. Doesn't Perez Hilton get sued all the time? I don't read his stupid blog but he only writes about public figures.

Schizo said...

For one thing, a threat to sue on the part of a public figure very rarely turns into an actual lawsuit. One party or the other will back down--either the defendant will shut up or the plaintiff will be shown up by the evidence behind whatever was said.

That said, there is a higher standard in libel lawsuits only for "public figures" to prove they were libeled. They have to prove three things--that the allegation wasn't true, that the reporter knew it wasn't true, and the allegation hurt their reputation in some way. An ordinary person only has to prove that the allegation isn't true. As always the burden of proof is on the plaintiff, not the defendant. This makes any kind of libel suit hard to win if you are in the public eye, whether you are put there by events or you put yourself out there willingly.

Anonymous said...

yeah...the " proving the reporter knew it wasn't true" and that the reputation was hurt are tough. The defense could have a field day for parading people who never liked the plantiff onto the stand to say the reputation was already bad with them!
And, I wonder how many readers understand how low the standard is for legally being a " public figure"? EVER had your name or photo in the paper or one of the local social mags? If so, you are a " public figure".



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Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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