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Blog Faces Lawsuit Over Reader Comments

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "In a legal case being watched closely by bloggers, an Internet company has sued the owner of a blog for comments posted to his site by readers, the Wall Street Journal Online reports. Traffic-Power.com, which sells tools for boosting Web traffic, sued Aaron Wall, age 25, over statements posted in the comments section of Wall's search-engine-optimization blog, SEOBook.com. (Wall also has posted about the case.) 'Legal analysts said the case falls into somewhat murky legal territory, but that Mr. Wall may have some protection from liability under federal law,' WSJ.com says. 'Courts generally have held that the operators of computer message boards and mailing lists cannot be held liable for statements posted by other people. Blogs might be viewed in a similar light, they said.' However, Daniel Perry, a lawyer who has followed the case, says that Wall's case is complicated by his own negative comments about Traffic-Power, which could be seen as a competitor to his site. 'To be candid, he sort of moved into this moving propeller,' Perry said. 'The Internet is not your personal stump to beat up people.'"

5 of 364 comments (clear)

  1. hmm... by justin12345 · · Score: 4, Funny

    'The Internet is not your personal stump to beat up people.'

    This guy has obviously never been to /.

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    Cool art gallery, if you're into that sort of thing.
  2. Dangerous Territory by Nerdfest · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd spout off some disparaging comments about lawyers, but am now afraid to ....

    1. Re:Dangerous Territory by Dibson · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't be afraid. Didn't you read the article? Insult the lawyers and /. will take the blame!

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      -- Why keep us waiting? We are not made of time.
  3. WTF by Sheepdot · · Score: 4, Funny

    'The Internet is not your personal stump to beat up people.'

    I beg to differ.

    Hurting someone else's feelings is my spaghetti-god-given right.

  4. Psssst! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    the_raptor (652941) has kiddie porn and uses the marijuana. Tell a friend.