Free Speech And WebLogs

welloy writes "The WashingtonPost has an article regarding free speech and web logs. Its focus is on how web logs are governed by the same laws/rules of standard print journalism. The header quote: "Bloggers" surprised by legal limits on Web journals."

Comments

Re:Duh!

[eyegor]

Ever hear of web server access logs? Most ISPs also keep track of who has what IP when. Unless you limit yourself to editing your blog from the public library or from open WiFi access points, "the man" can find you and squash you when "they" feel it's appropriate.

Well DUH!

[www.sorehands.com]

Back in 1938 the Supreme Court (Lovell v. Griffin, 303 U.S. 444, has given the lonely pamphleteer the protects as a newspaper. If it is printed, then it does not matter if you print on a sheet of toilet paper and hang it in the men's room or a full page advertisement in the New York Times.

The tort of libel has never depended on the number of readers, but on the issue.

Nonsense.

[kevlar]

This article has nothing to do with Free Speech. You can say whatever the hell you want so long as you do not bind yourself legally not to. In this case, he violated a non-disclosure agreement. This has nothing to do with Freedom of Speech.

MOD PARENT UP

[sulli]

Everyone who didn't RTFA should. This is about (a) somebody who violated NDA; (b) somebody who was fired for posting derogatory stuff about her employer (if you don't like it don't work there!); (c) a dumbass HR consultant who said moronic things about the First Amendment; and (d) a dumbass journalist who didn't understand the issues at all, including (i) the nature of contracts with one's employer, (ii) what a C&D letter is (HINT, YOU MORONS, IT IS NOT A LAWSUIT), and (iii) the First Amendment.

Have A Nice Trial and Conviction!

[reallocate]

That's one of the lamest, most ill informed, statements I've ever seen on Slashdot (...think about that.)

The data you post to a web site that is under your control is just that, under your control. Your assertion that you are not liable for illegal material that you collected and placed on a server that is owned by someone else is fatuous. You're renting space on that server, and you're responsible for what you put in that space.

And don't get to cute about imagining you can post pseudonymously or anonymously and evade responsibility. Your IP address points right back to you. Any prosecutor worth his/her salt can get a warrant compelling your ISP to trace that info and identify the person who made the post. (Happens a lot to AOL in the Loudoun County, Virginia, courts.)