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Getting sued for something you post on sj.com (or any message board)

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Almost_Famous, Jul 16, 2006.

  1. Almost_Famous

    Almost_Famous Active Member

    The owner of the website isn't responsible for 3rd party posts, that much i think i understand.

    BUT let's say you go and slander a journalist on here. "xxx is a fraud, he makes shit up, he dates underage girls, he steals money from his company, etc, etc." And xxx wants to sue the POSTER.

    Obviously SportsJournalists.com (and any other site, no matter what the site says) would have to eventually give up the poster's IP and the poster's name ... but has it ever gone this far?

    Not that I (or anyone else here) slanders, but has can anyone recall or link up an instance of it going this far?
     
  2. Sea Bass

    Sea Bass Well-Known Member

    I can't answer your question, but is it really obvious that SportsJournalists.com would have to give up an IP address? I thought that was far from black and white.
     
  3. CentralIllinoisan

    CentralIllinoisan Active Member

    Even if they get the IP address, how does one prove who posted the libelous comments?
     
  4. SF_Express

    SF_Express Active Member

    Well, there'd be a suit, and they'd figure it out.

    I think all the legal action that came over the posting of erroneous or damaging (or untrue positive) information about companies on financial message boards proved that you can't just write whatever you want on a public message board and not be responsible for it.
     
  5. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    hmm ... what was that thread about the guy at the Freep who got fired? Better go find that one ...
     
  6. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    I'm not so sure Webby would have to give anything up. There was a suit around here similar to all this, and the judge ruled against the man trying to get an ISP to give up such info saying the internet provider didn't have to give up that info.
     
  7. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    Well, there was the case of Peyton Manning vs. Hack, Young, Bitter...
     
  8. Flash

    Flash Guest

    At least in Canada, the Privacy Act prevents Internet Providers from having to give up the identity of address owners (something I looked into during a bout of cyberstalking).
     
  9. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    Not at SportsJournalists.com, but I've heard of people attempting to gain the identity of someone who posted on the Internet something particularly odious to their sensibilities, and filing legal action against the site and its administrators.

    And losing before the proceedings got very far.
     
  10. Almost_Famous

    Almost_Famous Active Member

    What if it's actually defamation of character?

    Then what?

    Just playing devil's advocate.
     
  11. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    Generally speaking, defamation is a catch-all term with two main definitions -- to slander someone is to defame them verbally or in another non-published or non-printed form, to libel someone is to do it in print or publication or in some other tangible way.
     
  12. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Journalists also pretty readily qualify as "public figures." "Fair comment" would also come into play pretty quickly.

    Not too many juries are gonna be too sympathetic to a journalist suing for alleged slander. If ya can't stand the heat, yadda yadda.
     
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