What Should You Do When Attacked Online?

Argylengineotis asks: "Recently, a friend of mine was viciously attacked by an unknown third party over the internet. This is not a typical case of cyber-crime either: the attack is in the form of slander, libel and posting of private information in public forums with the intent of encouraging further harassment. On top of everything, this attack is focused on forcing my friend out of business! Though we suspect certain people of perpetrating this series of crimes, the only way our friend could prove anything is with the resources of certain server logs belonging to the forum where this attack is taking place. This puts the forum in an awkward position, as they don't want to jeopardize their common-carrier status by setting a precedent of forking over server logs when somebody says something someone else doesn't like, be it overly critical or potentially slanderous, and they've referred my friend to their lawyers. My pal's local police force is totally unsympathetic and ultimately incapable of dealing with something like this, and the FBI won't even take a report, because there are no concrete points where there is verifiable damage, just a few mean-spirited posts in an anonymous forum. What, if any, are other possible recourses in a situation like this? Should my friend somehow try to find the money to hire an attorney to try and get the server logs (if they even exist)? Should my friend try and take matters into his own hands, (vigilantism)? Is there anyone we can call or write to that can exert some justice? Or does my friend simply have to resign himself to being the victim of a pretty nasty smear campaign?"

Comments

Subpena the forum for the logs

[rjamestaylor]

People do this to Yahoo and AOL everyday. Unless the company doesn't KEEP logs, then they have them. It won't make the forum responsible for the slander/libel just because they comply with the logs -- the phone company (a real common carrier) turns over logs all the time on subpena without endangering their common carrier status.

Slander/libel isn't a crime it's an actionable civil offense, where the remedy is financial. Why money? That's all courts can deal in. They cannot restore reputation nor return the goose feathers to the opened pillow (as they say).

But, a large civil judgement is only possible when (1) the litigant doesn't fight the charge--not what you want to have happen, or (2a) cannot use the unassailable defense of "truth", and (2b) cannot prove they were ignorant of the falsehood of their accusation, and (2c) cannot prove they acted without malice or an intent to cause harm through the false accusations. In other words: libel cases are rarely won, but when they are won (outside of summary judgement) they speak volumes -- especially when the award is high.

So, in light of libel and slander, you can refute (but who listens? Bad news is exciting), ignore (and appear guilty), or litigate. Just be sure you can make the case.

Oh, expect it to be expensive.

Re:Subpena the forum for the logs

[RedDork]

althought IANAL, I am a law student, and for the most part I agree with rjt's comment. I would add one thing though. This is a tort action (like a car accident) and as such, if there is a real chance of winning a large amount of damages, you will be able to find an attorney who will take this on contingency, i.e. work for free and take a percentage of your winnings. I would recommend opening the yellow pages and finding an attorney in your areas that handles slander/libel cases. You may want to look for one who specializes in cyberlaw/Internet cases, as this one can have some interesting consequences depending on the nature and location of your friend's business, the location of the forum's servers, and the location of his/her attacker.

The downside of this is that if she doesn't think she can win it, no attorney is going to spend her time and money litigating it, so don't be surprised if your friend is SOL on this one.

Hire a Lawyer

[automandc]

As a lawyer currently working on online libel issues, I can offer a little bit of insight, but don't take this as actual legal advice!

(1) Forums/websites etc. are not nearly as immune from discovery (the formal process of discovering information) as they like to pretend. For instance, a recent decision by the Virginia Supreme Court held that AOL is not immune from a subpoena issued by a California court in a libel case.

(2) In order to get discovery from the forum, you will need to initiate a lawsuit. There are two ways you can go. If you have a reasonable idea of who the perpetrator is, you can sue them on theory alone. If you have no idea of the actual identity, you can bring a "John Doe" suit, and then seek third-party discovery to uncover the identity of the defendant.

(3) You need a lawyer to do any of this. Depending on where you are, the severity of the attack, the potential damages, and the ability to easily reach the suspected perpetrator, you may be able to find an attorney to handle this on a contingency basis. Unfortunately, because libel cases are notoriously hard to win, and don't usually pay a lot in damages, this may be very difficult.

(4) if you have business insurance you should check if it covers this type of claim.

A closing point: I have said before that the popularity of the internet didn't alter the fundamentals of libel and slander. It is cases like these (taking the poster at face value) that demonstrate what I mean. Just because the actionable speech is in an online forum instead of in a newspaper, or on the radio doesn't mean that it is fundamentally different than those media. On the flip side, there are significant protections built into the U.S. libel law, and those protections generally discourage all but the most serious and meritorious suits.

Good luck with you problem. It would be interesting to hear greater detail (what forum? what type of business? etc.).

automandc

WiredPatrol

[rakerman]

Maybe see if Wired Patrol can help?