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This piece in The Times online struck me as being very relevent to us all.
And the NUJ's suggestion that bloggers even take out libel insurance while surprising me, didn't shock me.
Worth everyone reading.
I have a friend who is a member of mumsnet.com. She has kept me informed of this case for about a year now, saying how ridiculous it is. It all started with a few mums recommending childcare books. The author came on an recommend her own book I thin (allegedly) and when some mothers bought it they posted reviews.
If anybody has ever come across the author's work they will understand why these reviews were controversial.
The woman, who is American, threatened court action, so they took the reviews down. Then she told the website that they must close down immediately or she would still take them to court.
Obviously they thought they had done enough with the removal of the comments so they refused. Hence this case and ridiculous decision.
I also agree with the comment from Norway. Except this was not an English case, rather an American author and her large team of American lawyers.
I read about this case in Prospect magazine, in an article written by the woman who made the original comment (which was a joke Im not going to repeat but involved the author doing something extremely unlikely with a baby). It is a fascinating case. But it goes to show how we have to be careful not to treat chat forums as private coffee rooms where we can say all sorts of things and not be recorded. I try to refrain from saying something defamatory, even as a joke, on a website. However transient, this is still the written public medium and it comes under the libel laws.
Comments
And the NUJ's suggestion that bloggers even take out libel insurance while surprising me, didn't shock me.
Worth everyone reading.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article1784952.ece
If anybody has ever come across the author's work they will understand why these reviews were controversial.
The woman, who is American, threatened court action, so they took the reviews down. Then she told the website that they must close down immediately or she would still take them to court.
Obviously they thought they had done enough with the removal of the comments so they refused. Hence this case and ridiculous decision.
I also agree with the comment from Norway. Except this was not an English case, rather an American author and her large team of American lawyers.
I guess it is covered because people have to give personal information to join these forums so it would be traceable.