Want to stay current on e–commerce law? Sign up for Email Newsletter.
EFF Backs DontDateHimGirl.com in Defamation Case
Websites which allow users to post reviews and comments about various things (for example, there are websites where users can give reviews of their doctors, dentists, travel experience, home contractors, etc.) are legion. There is even a website, DontDateHimGirl.com, which allows women to share information about men.
Given that such websites allow people to post their subjective opinions about others, there is always the possibility that a review posted by one person might defame another person. This is the issue facing the DontDateHimGirl.com website: an individual has sued the website operator in the Pennsylvania courts on the grounds that various postings contain defamatory statements about him.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EEF”) has jumped in on the side of DontDateHimGirl.com by filing an amicus brief (also signed by the Center for Democracy and Technology and the American Civil Liberties Union). The EFF’s main submission is that section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act specifically protects the hosts of interactive computer services. That section states in part: “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider”.
According to the EFF, section 230 is meant to encourage free discourse and open debate; without protection for computer service providers, no one would risk creating websites that allow others to express ideas. Protecting service providers from liability for third-party content encourages debate and discussion in public forums. Of course, that protection does not mean that those who consider themselves defamed do not have any recourse; they are still able to sue the authors of the comments for defamation.
Section 230 has been consistently interpreted by other U.S. courts as conferring broad immunity from defamation liability for those who use the Internet to publish information originating from another source. According to the EFF, the operator of DontDateHimGirl.com is fully protected from liability for defamation. The EFF points out in its brief that the plaintiff is fully able to, and in fact has sued the authors of the statements.
For additional information, visit: