California Supreme Court insulates bloggers from defamation liability

Rush Nigut scooped me on a big blog-related lawsuit I should have been following. Thanks to Rush for the heads up. Although the facts of Barrett v. Rosenthal do not involve bloggers, the ruling of the California Supreme Court in that case surely does. Yesterday the California Supreme Court ruled that 47 USC 230 not only insulates Internet service providers from liability associated with defamatory comments posted by third parties, it also insulates ordinary Internet users who repost defamatory material.

While the ruling does nothing to protect bloggers who aid in the creation of the defamatory material, bloggers can rest easy that, at least in California, they will not be liable for the defamatory nature of information they reprint from somewhere else. Keep a close eye on this District of Columbia case, however which threatens an opposite ruling which could put bloggers' heads on the chopping block. While this new California ruling protects bloggers from liability associated with defamation, neither this ruling, the anticipated DC ruling or 47 USC 230 limits blogger liability for patent, trademark or copyright infringement, other intellectual property laws, criminal laws, state laws, or communications privacy laws. Be sure to check out Eric Goldman’s Technology and Marketing Blog for the latest 47 USC 230 case law updates.

Brett Trout

Other Related Topics:
Defamation, 47 USC 230, Blog Liability, Barrett, California Supreme Court