Double Post Monday! I ran across this in an old bookmarks folder from last year. I thought that since we have not yet talked about this issue at all that now would be as good a time as ever to hear what Steve Tobak over at Train Wreck has said on how bloggers can avoid breaking a law you might not even be aware of: Bloggers beware: You’re liable to commit libel. While I always try to avoid saying anything negative about people online, I can see how folks writing seemingly innocent posts might get trapped by the libel monster. Tobak states that only one person has to read your post for it to be considered “published†and the parameters for what is/isn’t libel can be a fuzzy line. Injecting opinions or writing factual statements that later prove to be false can be considered libel. Again, I try to be extremely careful with what I write, but others might not be aware of this potential legal trap, offering bold opinions based on internet news or media gossip that might later be proven wrong.
I decided to dig out this old post to help my neck of the blogosphere out as many polled have absolutely no clue what they are or are not responsible for on their blog in terms of legal issues. This is probably the easiest one to get into a tango over, and I encourage you to think hard while writing about someone else. In this day and age some people who are able to bring litigation against you will for no other reason that they can especially if their is any financial or short term gain involved. While for the most part people will let you have your opinion keep in mind their is a line in the sand and it’s different for every person.
Check out this excerpt:
First of all people usually ask the wrong questions: “Can a blogger be sued for defamation?†The truth is that almost anybody can sue you for just about anything these days. So… do not ask that question; it’s pretty dam dumb. What you want to know is your responsibility under the law, and therefore, how best to protect yourself from successful litigation.
To prove libel, which is the same thing as written defamation, the plaintiff has to prove that the blogger published a false statement of fact about the plaintiff that harmed the plaintiff’s reputation. Let’s break that down as this can get thick in a hurry.
“Published†means that at least one other person may have read the blog. That’s right, just one and you could be getting hosed.
A “false statement of fact†is a statement about the plaintiff that is not true. Truth is the best defense against libel. An opinion is also a defense against libel. But, depending on the context, the difference between an opinion and a statement of fact can be remarkably gray. Context is a big deal in determining defamation. One thing to watch out for: simply inserting the words “in my opinion†in front of a statement of fact doesn’t magically make it an opinion. Satire and hyperbole can also be defenses against libel, but again, very gray.
Take care when writing about others especially if your going to take the bull by the horns. Some advice that will take you the distance on the subject: No matter what type of blog you write, it’s focus or the size/power of the company/person you write about, you need to take care to choose your words carefully. How much would it suck to get served over some silly comment you wrote in a blog? It can happen. Don’t be that person!
Have you ever had a libel fiasco? So far so good for this blog.
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This is starting to scare me, but I think I can watch my words enough. I think I may have said something not the best about a company in a comment, but wrote a great post about them before. I see that this has to be watched closely as not to get any harm from something simple. Again, now I have some new ideas! I can go and sue people for damaging my reputation.
Its just a warning that if you maliciously go after someone or make comments about someone that makes the digg front page and later turns out to be false.. Be ready lol. I have said things as well, and I try to moderate myself without losing the point of what Im saying. Being careful is all you can do.
Good stuff. A lot of times, bloggers are looked to as the “horn blowers”, this article proves that horn blowing can actually land you in some legal trouble. Moral of the story is…..be careful
I’ve seen a lot of bloggers that leave themselves susceptible for charges of defamation. I’ve even made a post just like this to warn them.
It’s pretty easy to get around this. For example, I wrote a post once that clearly targeted a certain stock trading robot company, yet instead of mentioning and attacking them, I simply wrote the post to demote stock trading robots in general. Writing things in a general space rather than target-specific is a fool proof method at limiting your risks.
Once you get bigger, it’s important to register as an LLC so you can reduce your liability if something were to go wrong. This just costs $100-$200 and can save you a fortune… it’s nice to have a safety net.
It’s scary to think that you can get into this much trouble for just stating your opinion on something, whether it being true or not true.
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@Ben-you really thought of an extreme situation there! I would wish I had never posted it. What happens if you delete the post?
I don’t know how difficult it really is to file a slander or libel suit. I know that you need to be careful what you say however, and I live by the adage of only writing what you are willing to say to the persons face. But if suing where as easy as cake the internet would be just one big constant law suit.
I mean I don’t know how often you read celebrity blogs, but if they (celebs) could sue easily most sites would already be shut down.
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My mother-in-law to be almost filed the same case to me before. Because her son (my boyfriend) cheated on me and I posted bad things about her son in my website. I have to tell you that I was pretty scared. I didn’t know a small thing like sharing your opinion or expressing your feelings can cause you to be in jail.