Defamation

California Developer Sues Homeowners for Libel Over Disparaging Blog Comments

Los Angeles real estate developer Barry Shy and his development company, 5th St Loft, have sued Jessica Jordan and Alan Dylan, who reside in a building developed by Shy and run the website Truedowntown, the "unofficial" site for the Shybary Grand Loft in Los Angeles. The lawsuit, which plaintiffs filed on June 17, 2008, claims that Jordan and Dylan libeled Shy and damaged his businesses by making disparaging comments about him.

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California

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Understanding Your Legal Risks When You Blog or Publish Online

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting about various topics we cover in the CMLP's Citizen Media Legal Guide. If you would like to read any of the previous "highlights" from the guide, you can find them here.

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Blogger and Maryland Police Chief Settle Defamation Lawsuit

Last week, Salisbury, Maryland Police Chief Allan Webster and Joe Albero, operator of the Salisbury News blog, reached a settlement in Webster's defamation and false light lawsuit, just hours before the case was scheduled for trial.

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Maryland

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Google Execs Face Charges in Italy Over Third Party Content

Does the European Union offer web hosts any protection from liability for the content of third parties, a la section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230) or the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act? This looks to be a key question for four current and former Google executives, as Italian prosecutors prepare to launch criminal charges against them over a video hosted by

Jurisdiction:

Italy

Content Type:

Video

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Candidate for U.S. Congress Threatens Legal Action Against Blogger

George Lilly, the Republican candidate for Colorado's First Congressional District, says on his website that he considers defense of the U.S. Constitution a "sacred oath." But after he threatened a libel lawsuit against the Rocky Mountain Right ("RMR") blog, one wonders about his views on the First Amendment.

Jurisdiction:

Colorado

Content Type:

Text

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Revisiting Foreign Libel Law's Pernicious Impact on First Amendment Speech

Back in April, I blogged about New York's Libel Terrorism Protection Act, which bars the enforcement of foreign defamation judgments unless a New York court has found that the foreign court proceeding provided at least as much protection for freedom of speech and press in that case as would be provided by both the United States and New York Constitutions.

Jurisdiction:

International

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Citing CDA 230, Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Against Wikimedia Foundation

News reports (here, here) indicate that New Jersey Superior Court Judge Jamie S. Perri dismissed Barbara Bauer's defamation lawsuit against the Wikimedia Foundation yesterday.

Jurisdiction:

New Jersey

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Text

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Lawyer Attempts End Run Around CDA 230, Finds a Stronger Defense Than He Expected

Following on the heels of a Virginia lawyer being sanctioned for improperly using a subpoena to silence a critic, we hear about a lawyer in California who is threatening to use a meritless lawsuit to force Julia Forte, who runs a forum for consumer complaints about telemarketers, to remove user-submitted comments that are critical of his client.

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U.S. Blogger Facing Criminal Libel Charges in Singapore

Singapore officials Monday amended the charge against blogger Gopalan Nair, a U.S. citizen who blogs from Fremont, California, accusing him of insulting a public official for his criticism of Singaporean Judge Belinda Ang that he published in his blog, Singapore Dissident, last month. The original charge had asserted that Nair insulted Ang in an email.

Jurisdiction:

Singapore

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Presidential Candidates Fight Online Defamation

Last week some reporters, politicos, and bloggers may have mourned the end of the endless presidential primary season. But it's not like political mudslinging is now going to end. Indeed, in ancticipation of the focus on the general election battle, in the muddy backwaters of the Internet – in forums, blog comments, email chain letters and listservs – defamatory statements are being bandied about in hopes that some of the reputation damaging misinformation will enter the zeitgeist of the electorate to sway public opinion about the candidates one way or another.

Digital Media Law Project

Legal Resources for Digital Media

Defamation

California Developer Sues Homeowners for Libel Over Disparaging Blog Comments

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Understanding Your Legal Risks When You Blog or Publish Online

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Blogger and Maryland Police Chief Settle Defamation Lawsuit

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Google Execs Face Charges in Italy Over Third Party Content

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Candidate for U.S. Congress Threatens Legal Action Against Blogger

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Revisiting Foreign Libel Law's Pernicious Impact on First Amendment Speech

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Citing CDA 230, Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Against Wikimedia Foundation

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Lawyer Attempts End Run Around CDA 230, Finds a Stronger Defense Than He Expected

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U.S. Blogger Facing Criminal Libel Charges in Singapore

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Presidential Candidates Fight Online Defamation

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