Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Cyberlibel Damages Awarded In Canada

Posted by timothy on from the that-was-very-hurtful dept.

mszeto writes "The Globe And Mail is reporting that an Ontario judge has awarded an archaeologist 125k$ in damages after someone smeared her using email. According to the lawyer: 'People seem to think there is a level of anonymity to e-mail and the Internet. And that it's a lawless area. And clearly it is not, nor should it be.'"

16 of 247 comments (clear)

  1. Uh oh.. this could be a bad precident.. by brxndxn · · Score: 4, Funny

    I hope the spammers don't all sue me for sending out millions of emails that say all spammers are evil and that spam should be ignored!

    --
    --- We need more Ron Paul!
    1. Re:Uh oh.. this could be a bad precident.. by steveha · · Score: 2, Funny

      The basic defense against libel is: if it's a true statement, it's not libel.

      Since spammers are evil, you should be in the clear... ;-)

      Note: I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, and please play nice with the other kids.

      steveha

      --
      lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
    2. Re:Uh oh.. this could be a bad precident.. by clambake · · Score: 2, Funny

      I hope the spammers don't all sue me for sending out millions of emails that say all spammers are evil and that spam should be ignored!

      I hope they ALL do, that way we can find out who they are!

  2. Lies! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "People seem to think there is a level of anonymity to e-mail and the Internet."

    Ha!

    1. Re:Lies! by Saeger · · Score: 4, Funny
      Dear "Anonymous" Coward,

      We logged your HTTP POST packet enroute to slashdot.org as it hopped across our "PATRIOT2 blackboxes", which are installed at the border of most ISPs, as required by anti-terrorism law.

      Your IP is 149.101.1.32 and our reverse records indicate that your name and address is none other than ... oh, sorry, we didn't know it was you Sir. Excuse the intrusion and consider your logs erased for "national security" reasons.

      Sincerely,
      Stormtrooper #98562
      New World Order, SubFloor 145

      --

      --
      Power to the Peaceful
    2. Re:Lies! by Hal+The+Computer · · Score: 2, Funny

      [Darth Vader Voice]
      The power of this Orwellian monitoring network is insignificant compared to the power of the force.
      [/Darth Vader Voice]

      *Chokes annoying stormtrooper who interupted porn surfing session.*

      --

      int main(void){int x=01232;while(malloc(x));return x;}
  3. Mental Note: by mekkab · · Score: 5, Funny

    Use anonymous re-mailer before slandering colleagues. Also, remove personal sig with my name, tele number, and address, too.

    Mr. Gates is a big fairy!

    -- /s/

    Robert M. Shankely
    348-8347
    234 Niam St.
    Provo, Utah.

    --
    In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
  4. I think the question on all our minds now is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    When will the Star Wars kid sue?!?!?

  5. The new get rich quick? by Johnny+Fusion · · Score: 2, Funny

    I could use some money! Quick! Somebody say something mean about me! Call me names! Make sure it is untrue. Looks like "grave robber" is worth $125k (Canadian) I bet I can get a few of those or worse here....

    --
    There are two kinds of fool. One says, This is old, and therefore good. And one says, This is new, and therefore better.
  6. OMG! This is all Bush's fault!!! by pdpTrojan · · Score: 1, Funny

    I am just going to move to Can.. oh, wait.

  7. Re:A scary prescedent? by LurkerXXX · · Score: 5, Funny

    You better be careful, or he will sue you. Then in a few hours, he will forget he'd done it, and he'll sue you again. Dupe lawsuits!

  8. Re:Remember kids: by Frogbert · · Score: 4, Funny

    Microsoft is shit.

  9. From TFA... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Before this, there has been very little case law in the field of cyberlibel, although a June Ontario Court of Appeal decision was instructive. In that case, a homeless Vancouver man was ordered to pay $125,000 for libelling Barrick Gold Corp. in Internet postings.

    I wonder if he paid by cash, check or credit card?

  10. Re:$125,000? by AndroidCat · · Score: 2, Funny

    If he digs you up in a thousands years, puts you in a museum, and you call him a grave robber, then I'd call him a necromancer.

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  11. Re:Here in America by JustOK · · Score: 2, Funny

    Probally the french version. They use a comma instead of a decimal too. Plus, its like they have a different word for almost everything.

    --
    rewriting history since 2109
  12. Re:Remember kids: by jd · · Score: 4, Funny

    No, that's libel, as it's defamatory and untrue. Shit can be used to fertilize the soil, adding much-needed nutrients, recycling the waste productively. Rose gardeners, especially, benefit from shit.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)