Judges Quickly Tossing Out Bogus Internet Liability Cases

from the good-news dept

In the past, we've covered why section 230 of the Communications Decency Act makes a lot of sense (despite plenty of other flaws in that law). What it says is that a service provider isn't liable for the actions its users take within the service. This makes fundamental sense (it's almost too bad there even needs to be a law pointing it out), because what it's saying is that you don't blame whoever made the tool, you blame whoever used it. You don't blame the telephone company if someone uses the telephone to commit a crime, and therefore you don't blame the ISP or website when a user does something illegal as well. Over the years, the courts have had various decisions (some good, some bad) concerning section 230, but it's beginning to get to the point where judges seem comfortable quickly dismissing bogus claims against service providers. Eric Goldman points to a recent case where a user of MSN's forums got upset about some messages on the forums and rather than going after those who made the statements, sued Microsoft. Microsoft filed a motion to dismiss per section 230 and, voila, case dismissed. Hopefully, this will start to become common practice so that the courts aren't littered with these types of bogus cases much longer.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Feb 2007 @ 6:24pm

    What works for Microsoft doesn't necessarily work for everyone else.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Feb 2007 @ 8:19pm

    One problem is that ISPs and web site hosts are not required to divulge the identity of those making slanderous statements about a person and often won't without a court order.

    To get this information it is necessary to sue the provider rather than the law breaker.

    I don't have a good solution, but as long as people hide behind providers to remain anonymous it will remain necessary to sue providers when one wishes to file a civil suit.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Wizard Prang, 23 Feb 2007 @ 6:39am

      I am not a lawyer but...

      To get this information it is necessary to sue the provider rather than the law breaker.

      Nope. To get this information they need something called a warrant.

      Alternatively something called a Court Order might do it.

      No lawsuit required.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Kentucky Fats, 22 Feb 2007 @ 8:55pm

    et tu brute

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Monarch, 22 Feb 2007 @ 9:03pm

    Re: #3 AC

    It's easy to get a subpeona, just by filing the forms in small claims court, for the ISP to release the information on the user. ISP's willing give up information quickly, once a court ordered subpeona is issued.
    However, to give that info out without it, could get the ISP sued over privacy issues. There is a reason they don't give it out freely.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    erv, 22 Feb 2007 @ 9:12pm

    freedom of speech buddy...if I can you suk in the public square I should be able to say it online. Bravo to the courts...bravo

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    vapiddreamer, 22 Feb 2007 @ 10:14pm

    not hiding behind the ISP

    I'm hiding behind peergaurdian =p
    cause, in fact, #5 is right on-- why would I expect the ISP to put their neck out for me?? Protect ya neck kid.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.