Freedom To Say What You Want Via Your Blog? Maybe Not!
So here we go… the lawsuits have begun and the days of being a completely anonymous blogger are now over. So beware with what you say and how true or not true it is. You may fall victim to what you thought was a protected private cyber world.
All this stems from the shameless and anonymous ‘Skanks in NYC’ blogger, who was facing a potential defamation lawsuit by model Liksula Gentile Cohen. The blogger, who published photos and called Cohen shallow, demeaning names, completely disrespected and portrayed the model in negative fashion. Cohen took action and asked that the racy post of her be taken off immediately. However it didn’t end there, Cohen also demanded that Google release the name of the “anonymous” Blogger. Google did not comply with Cohen’s requests, unless ordered to do so by a court. Well, Cohen’s requests and persistence with the courts paid off and the Manhattan Supreme Court Judge ordered Google on August 24th to hand over the blogger’s e-mail and IP addresses. Google gave the information to Cohen’s lawyers, who plan to sue the blogger for defamation.
Now here’s the twist, that same blogger, who now has been identified as fashion student Rosemary Port, is filing a lawsuit of her own. She has decided to sue Google for revealing her identity to Cohen, and thus to the world. So now we know that if the correct actions are taken with the legal system, anyone’s identity can be given away with a simple court order.
This is only the grand introduction of what can potentially be lawsuit after lawsuit; back and forth with the plaintiff and defendant. Who are right and whose freedom of speech is actually being taken away? Now that Google has been ordered to give up the identity of a customer, this is surely a case that many will be watching closely. Is this only the beginning of the end for all anonymous blogs? If simply calling someone something online is considered to be defamation, it may open the door for more lawsuits against all social networking sites such as; Facebook, Twitter, myspace, etc…. Just make sure to be nice with your words and you won’t even have to sweat about a lawsuit. But then again, where’s our 1st amendment right?
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Aixa,
Great post! The general rule of thumb is to not blog if you have an inkling of doubt. Meaning- if you might offend or tick someone off, then don’t do it. Especially if they don’t have a celebrity status. Celebs are considered “safe harbor” when it comes to opinions. However, if they are not then offering an opinion can be considered slanderous towards the non-celeb in some circumstances. It is a grey area. The rule of thumb is preface a borderline outlandish comment with – “it is my opinion” and you should be fine. If you make it fact, you might open Pandora’s box!
Derek Showerman´s last blog ..Julie & Julia Is A Social Media Success Story & A Banana Split Life Lesson
Some legal schooling. ~~
Making false claims against someone has been a bad thing since god handed it down from high to Moses in the 10 Commandments (bearing false witness). In the US, we have two primary types of Defamation defined (see wikipedia for defamation for more info), LIBEL any falsehood in PRINT (or Media), and SLANDER any falsehood SPOKEN, although it being false or untrue, is not always a requirement. In both, it must be shown the person committing the act, chose to defame and did so with malice. ~~
The only type of possibly Libelous or Slanderous speech that is protected is political advertising, thereby a campaign letter from an opponent of say a mayoral candidate that claims that the opponent kills puppies for fun, would be protected up until the election. After an election, normal laws would apply. ~~
While it is believed we have a right to free speech in this country, we actually have a right to free true speech. ~~
That being said, the character of Mr. Hand on South Park is a Doody Head. No, really. ;-D ~~
.
Good point, free true speech is what we really do have. Anything else said without fact and meant in a cruel way is simply malice. I believe we should all live by the basic lesson most people were taught growing up; “do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you”.
Our First Amendment Rights are where they have ALWAYS been, nothing has changed. You have the RIGHT to say anything you wish in a public forum. Just be prepared to defend against a legal action by the person or group you injure when your defamatory comments are proven responsible for the FINANCIAL LOSS or DAMAGE TO THE REPUTATION of the subject of your defamation! Don’t forget the ancient addage which still holds truth today: “As you sow, so shall you reap.”