Libel, Schmibel

To all fellow travelers who blog, tweet, facebook, myspace or otherwise post content in that wacky, wonderful place known as the internet, beware! During my daily travels I am seeing an increasing number of stories detailing lawsuits for libel being pursued based on internet posts. The latest and most notorious is the Love vs. Simorangkir case, in which that professional bridge burner and National Enquirer cover girl Courtney Love is being sued for damages based on comments posted to her twitter account. It seems Courtney didn't like the price of some garments she had made by Simorangkir, a well known fashion designer. Not content to argue face to face or, say, trash her shop in person, Courtney decided to tweet that Ms. Simorangkir had a history of peddling a white powdery substance often taken nasally. Courtney is now being hauled into court . . . More details can be found here.

What in the world does this have to do with any of us, you ask? According to several legal experts, no one really knows yet. Could you be held liable for your online libel? Quite possibly and the Love case, along with a couple of others cited in the link above, will set legal precedents on these matters so they do bear watching by the online community. In this case technology has outpaced the laws that govern free speech online, and these cases represent new and untried areas of law. The simple message is, protect yourself. Having worked as a journalist and having been forced to memorize great portions of the Associated Press Style Guide and Libel Manual, I do have a few tips to share.

First, a definition. Libel is the communication of a statement through written or other permanent means that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that would give an individual, group or product a negative image. Groups can include organizations, nations, companies, etc.

Some common defenses against libel include:

Truth - In most U.S. jurisdictions, statements proven to be true are not libelous

Opinion - If the statement is indentified to be opinion and not fact, it is protected by the first amandment.

Public Figure Doctrine- Also known as the absence of malice, this precedent holds that in order for a public figure to win a libel case, they must prove the statement was published with foreknowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.

Wikipedia has a much more comprehensive overview here.

Why should we care? I think anyone who blogs regularly and posts comments or content that involve other persons should at least know the law and their potential liability. In the great majority of cases, an individual blogger flies under the radar and is in little danger of being sued. Just remember that everything you post on a public, searchable forum can, and in some cases is, being used against the person creating the post. I'm looking forward to hearing back from my fellow blogger readers, all six of you. I think this is an issue any constitution loving american should follow with interest.