Libel Laws Used To Curb Web Protests

Rowdy Ray writes "Big businesses are using Britain's libel laws to shut down websites set up by disgruntled customers or protest groups, a report by the Government's advisers on law reform has found."

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Not much new here

[mbstone]

US libel laws are similar to those in the UK. Big companies with unlimited resources for lawyers can sue (or threaten to sue) small web sites, with relative impunity, on both sides of the pond. The amount of money one has available for lawyers (and other litigation costs) is a thumb on the scales of American (and English) justice. The only difference is, in England they have the "English rule" which means that the loser pays the winner's legal fees. So anybody taking on a corporate behemoth in the UK court system takes a far greater risk! Many US jurisdictions have anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) laws which can help tip the scales back toward the free (as in speech) speakers.