Do you agree with the court regarding legal liability toward bloggers?

Question

(Nov. 22) - Bloggers and website owners cannot be sued for posting libelous or defamatory comments written by third parties, the California Supreme Court has ruled. The court said only the original authors of comments published online can be sued.

Legal analysts say the 34-page decision, issued Monday, is significant because it brings California in line with other court rulings across the nation that have upheld the 1996 federal Communications Decency Act, which protects website owners from legal liability in libel or defamation lawsuits.

"Bloggers and website owners can all breathe a very big sigh of relief," says Gregory Herbert, an Orlando lawyer who specializes in First Amendment issues. "This decision adds more uniformity to the law and reduces the risk for liability for even individuals who are posting things onto website message boards and chat rooms."

Do you agree with the decision of the court?

Your thoughts...

Answer 1

Yes. The CDA, along with other federal acts, provides a safe harbor for many content providers, so long as they fall into certain categories and take actions to take down comments that are violative of copyright or other laws (such as defamation). When Bloggers allow their site open for comments, it would be nearly impossible for them to monitor every comment quickly to prevent any libelous comments from being posted.
Remember, the courts only hold that the bloggers (and the website owners) cannot be liable for COMMENTS posted on the blog, not for the blog entries themselves. The commenter can be held liable for defamation, and if the original blog entry was libelous, then the blog owner is liable, too.

Answer 2

I certainly agree with the fact that web host services and ISP's should not be held liable for the content users put on their machines.

This new doctrine, however, sets a standard that is fair unbeatable. Say whatever you want, ruin reputations, even with the basest lies, and get home free... Basically, it states that there can be no libel for content posted on the internet, even if falsehood and malicious intent are fully and undoubtedly proved.

I sure wish I lived in America and I would blog that Cheney's daughter is lesbian because her father, the bush clan, don rumsfeld and the supreme justices that voted for the recent eminent domain decision gang raped her regularly and forced her to take part in voodoo rituals where they ate babies.