A federal court in California ruled on Friday that individuals
cannot be sued for posting negative comments about a public company
if the statements are opinion rather than fact. The ruling helps to
clarify the growing body of law in the US about on-line defamation.
A defamation action was brought by a telecoms company, Global
Telemedia International Inc, against a number of individuals who
posted negative comments about it on an internet bulletin board.
Judge David Carter dismissed the case, ruling that the
individuals were not competitors of the company and that “chat
rooms do not constitute a business context.”
The American Civil Liberties Union is presently active in two
other US defamation actions concerning comments made on bulletin
boards, arguing the right of individuals to make comments
anonymously.
In one of these cases, the ACLU has been supported by America
Online. The ISP filed a legal brief, saying it had handled
approximately 475 subpoenas last year seeking to identify anonymous
posters. It said that attempts to intimidate on-line critics by
filing such actions constitute "an illegitimate use of the courts
to silence and retaliate against speakers."
