Pay 11.3 Million to State Your Opinion
I can't really come up with an opinion on this one because there aren't enough details, but a WHOPPING 11.3 million dollars was awarded (but will probably never be paid) to a woman who sued another woman over defamatory remarks posted on the Internet.
Here's the story.
The defendent (who could no longer afford a lawyer and didn't appear in court) claims she was just stating her opinion...which I hope will always be allowed. However, the article says that the woman used the words "crook", "con artist" and "fraud" in her post which might make it more than simply an opinion.
In a related story: Courts are asked to crack down on bloggers, websites. This article talks about a few cases where people have definitely gone too far, including the totally disgusting (my opinion, of course!) dontdatehimgirl.com site, where women are allowed to post full names, locations and unverified details about their prior boyfriends/spouses/etc.
Does this mean we can't share our opinions? I don't think so, but definitely don't think your freedom of speech means you can state anything you want as fact. And hey, if you're unsure if you can say what you're thinking...talk to a lawyer because this is definitely not legal advice.
Here's the story.
The defendent (who could no longer afford a lawyer and didn't appear in court) claims she was just stating her opinion...which I hope will always be allowed. However, the article says that the woman used the words "crook", "con artist" and "fraud" in her post which might make it more than simply an opinion.
In a related story: Courts are asked to crack down on bloggers, websites. This article talks about a few cases where people have definitely gone too far, including the totally disgusting (my opinion, of course!) dontdatehimgirl.com site, where women are allowed to post full names, locations and unverified details about their prior boyfriends/spouses/etc.
Does this mean we can't share our opinions? I don't think so, but definitely don't think your freedom of speech means you can state anything you want as fact. And hey, if you're unsure if you can say what you're thinking...talk to a lawyer because this is definitely not legal advice.
2 Comments:
Wonder what that will to do sites like ripoffreport.com? Interesting and I'm with you Alice, I'm not sure which way I side with this.
I believe in free speech and think that the internet allows people to view their opinions openly. However, I don't believe in defamation of character. It's not right to blatantly critize people to the point of disgust.
I agree with everything you said Alice. Being a blind medium I think people tend to write things online they would never say to someone's face. People need to step back and think about that before saying anything online.
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