There have been more than 50 U.S. lawsuits over web posting in the past two years, and blogs account for an increase proportion of those. One aggrieved blogger has just been fined $50,000 for libeling his former lawyer – the first blogger to lose a libel case, according to the Media Law Resource Center. Because they are often outside the traditional media, bloggers have felt immune from libel until now. The Center’s Media Bloggers Association founder Robert Cox said bloggers should read up on media law: “Soon there will be a blogger who is successfully sued and who loses his home. That will be the shot heard round the blogosphere.” On discussion forums, comment sections and the like, the fairly minimal precedent is that under the 1996 Communications Decency Act, individuals are responsible for their contributions and not the service provider or site owner. But the Todd Hollis vs. DontHateHimGirl.com lawsuit, which has a scheduled hearing Oct. 19, will clarify the extent to which this act protects publishers, as distinct from ISPs. Hollis asserts a difference because an editor controls the site’s content.
Related: Online Publishing Risks Create Need for Libel Insurance
— Indie Web Publishers Gain Libel Protection
This article originally appeared in MediaGuardian.
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