Big win for discussion board owners

[Flatlander]

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

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 that 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.

Full Story.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Well that is interesting news.

 

[terryl965]

Well there goes the nieghborhood

 

[Bob Hubbard]

It basically reinforces something thats been law for a while, and has been in our TOS since day 1. Nice to see the courts doing something smart.

 

[Don Roley]

Considering my experience with the Konigun, I find this of extreme interest.

But this was a California court. Part of me hopes that it is appealed and taken all the way to the supreme court to settle things for all the states. It seems that it should with the internet being as interstate as you can get.

What happens if other state courts have different judgements?

 

[agranjero]

I like this decision as well, for the same reason as Don, plus, I have been on the receiving end of such a lawsuit. I think, Don, that such a case sets a precedent, especially since it has been heard on appeal and can be cited in any state where such a case has been brought. It is interesting because the person who sued me and others, also sued e-budo for the express purpose of shutting them up so they couldn't talk about their ninjitsu style. At least it takes ebudo, map, and this site out of the mix for these frivolous lawsuits.

 

[Eternal White Belt]

Great news to read on Thanksgiving Day!

I, too, am a victim of konigun's frivolous lawsuits, and would like to see this go to the Supreme Court. Posting a message on an internet bulletin board equates to free speech, imho. This should be of interest to people globally, not just in the United States.

 

[Fu_Bag]

I would rather come across offensive material or opinions online than to have things sanitized to the point of being in Ned Flanders' house, darn diddly....

At least this helps to ensure that, in the U.S. anyway, the only Thought Admirals are the owners and moderators of the sites we choose to visit.