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Legal Threat Demands Techdirt Shut Down
An anonymous reader writes "Earlier this month, the US approved a new law to fight against so-called 'libel tourism,' the practice of suing US companies in foreign jurisdictions (quite frequently, the UK) which do not have the same level of free speech protections. The new law, the SPEECH Act, may now get put to the test, as lawyers for a guy named Jeffrey Morris in the UK, who was upset about some comments on a 2004 blog post on Techdirt, have demanded the entire site shut down due to those unidentified comments."
but what i dislike is when americans are held accountable for crimes and weaknesses that basically every human being is guilty of. or when the atrocities of the american government are given special analysis for high holy indignation, while much worse atrocities of the same form from other governments are completely ignored, minimized, or excused, including from their own government. not that a crime committed by another government excuses the crimes of the american government. but it doesn't excuse critics of the usa to focus their high holy indignation on the usa alone, when whatever ugly game in question is played by everyone
Tough shit. You claim you're the best country god gave this world...then we're going to hold you to your own standards.
No one forced you to put the bar that high, but if you're going to scream from the rooftops that you're better than all of us, we *will* take exquisite delight in pointing out the hypocrisy.
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
you're nothing but an ex-fanboy, you've fallen out of love with my country. fine. i didn't ask you to love my country, that's your own fault
Ehmm, I don't recall ever having been a fan of the US, apart from the massive service you guys did us back in the 40's.
The fanboyism is an american phenomenon. Making small kids swear pledges in school, the absurd amounts of flagwaving, politicians getting roasted for not wearing a pin etc.
likewise, that you hate my country is your own fault too
I don't *hate* your country, I just thoroughly enjoy making fun of it :)
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
You're an idiot. Going to court to defend baseless accusations costs a lot of money, so basically you're advocating freedom of speech (as long as you can prove you're right) only for the rich.
Unless the UK government is going to step up and pay for all legal fees involved in libel cases, as well as compensation for time off from work, travel expenses, etc., then their libel laws are idiotic.