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(CA Supreme) Court: Web sites not liable for libel in third-party postings
ap on Riverside Press Enterprise ^ | 11/20/06 | Jordan Robertson - ap

Posted on 11/20/2006 1:45:05 PM PST by NormsRevenge

SAN JOSE

Web sites that publish inflammatory information written by other parties cannot be sued for libel, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The ruling in favor of free online expression was a victory for a San Diego woman who was sued by two doctors for posting an allegedly libelous e-mail on two Web sites.

Some of the Internet's biggest names, including Amazon.com, America Online Inc., eBay Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., took the defendant's side out of concern a ruling against her would expose them to liability.

In reversing an appellate court's decision, the state Supreme Court ruled that the Communications Decency Act of 1996 provides broad immunity from defamation lawsuits for people who publish information on the Internet that was gathered from another source.

"The prospect of blanket immunity for those who intentionally redistribute defamatory statements on the Internet has disturbing implications," Associate Justice Carol A. Corrigan wrote in the majority opinion. "Nevertheless ... statutory immunity serves to protect online freedom of expression and to encourage self-regulation, as Congress intended."

Unless Congress revises the existing law, people who claim they were defamed in an Internet posting can only seek damages from the original source of the statement, the court ruled.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; libel; postings; thirdparty; websites

1 posted on 11/20/2006 1:45:08 PM PST by NormsRevenge
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To: Jim Robinson

Good news. The people I insult here can't come after you now. ;-)


2 posted on 11/20/2006 1:47:27 PM PST by ElkGroveDan
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To: NormsRevenge

This will put a damper on the Church of Scientology filing lawsuits against anyone who says anything about them, I hope.


3 posted on 11/20/2006 1:51:27 PM PST by TommyDale (Iran President Ahmadinejad is shorter than Tom Daschle!)
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To: NormsRevenge

Just don't spread gossip on the internet....Uh....DOH!


4 posted on 11/20/2006 2:02:02 PM PST by Dallas59 (Muslims Are Only Guests In Western Countries)
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To: NormsRevenge

This is good news. the idea that the ISP is liable for what users post makes as much sense as holding the manufacturers of pens, pencils and paper liable for the content written with such items.


5 posted on 11/20/2006 2:02:14 PM PST by doc30 (Democrats are to morals what an Etch-A-Sketch is to Art.)
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To: NormsRevenge; Jim Robinson
Want to bet there's a small print exception for FR in there somewhere?

:^)

6 posted on 11/20/2006 2:06:42 PM PST by raybbr (You think it's bad now - wait till the anchor babies start to vote.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Likewise gunmakers should not be held accountable for the misuse of their products.


7 posted on 11/20/2006 2:28:51 PM PST by nonsporting
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To: NormsRevenge

Sanity! Good news for once! :-)


8 posted on 11/20/2006 2:29:12 PM PST by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: NormsRevenge

Likewise gunmakers should not be held accountable for the misuse of their products.


9 posted on 11/20/2006 2:40:51 PM PST by nonsporting
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