I scour the Internet for defamation stories and posts every day because I am passionate about the law of defamation. Because I find so many interesting articles/posts on a regular basis, I thought I would share some of them with my readers through a new series here at the California Defamation Law Blog, called, "Defamation Hotlinks." Every Friday I’ll post the most interesting articles/stories regarding libel, slander, and defamation on the Internet and offline. I hope you enjoy.
1. Dozier Internet Law on Public Citizen Bullying – I deeply respect John Dozier’s opinion in the area of internet defamation and cyber-bullying. In this post, he writes about a recent call by others for broadening the immunity of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to cover websites that allow trademark infringement. While Mr. Dozier is unapologetically pro-business, his views are consistent with the current state of defamation law, and I believe his predictions regarding the future in this area of law will bear out.
2. Dixie Chicks Face Defamation Lawsuit After Using Court Records – If Mr. Dozier is pro-business, Citizen Media is definitely pro-individual. The interesting part of this article is Citizen Media’s discussion of the "fair report privilege." This privilege has historically protected traditional media outlets from defamation suits. The question is whether this privilege will be extended to independent bloggers in the near future in the same way it is applied to the mainstream media.
3. Inside The First Amendment: Technology Changing Our Approach To Free Expression – Gene Policinski, of the First Amendment Center, provides a brief, but fascinating overview of how technology is changing our approach to First Amendment issues. My favorite line from the piece is: "How does the law punish perpetual harm or compensate for perpetual defamation?"
Did I miss any key stories on defamation? If you think I did, please submit them to me for consideration for next week’s Hotlinks.
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