Libel / Slander

Cryogenic · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:19

I am thinking of creating a blog linking to some articles written by other people. If the articles are slanderous / libel. Could I be threatened with action?

Yes/No?

Lysander · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:21

Libel is written defamatory comments.
Slander is spoken defamatory comments.

Just so you know the distinction.

And no, you couldn't.

Masterdog · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:21

Put a disclaimer on there (any opinions expressed on links arent mine etc). Then libel away.

Greenlizard0 · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:30

Is slander the same as defamation of character?

Lysander · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:32

Greenlizard0 said:
Is slander the same as defamation of character?

Libel and slander are both forms of defamation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation#Slander_and_libel

Rebelius · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:36

Lysander said:
Libel is written defamatory comments.
Slander is spoken defamatory comments.

Just so you know the distinction.

And no, you couldn't.

except that some Judge just said that comments written on internet forums and things like that should be treated as slander and not libel.

Greenlizard0 · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:39

Lysander said:
And no, you couldn't.

Why couldn't the OP be sued? Pretend he said something untrue about the character of e.g. a school mate? Could the school mate then sue? :confused:

Masterdog · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:45

If he's only linking to other people's comments then he's on safe ground.

krooton · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:50

Masterdog said:
If he's only linking to other people's comments then he's on safe ground.

Yep, saying that someone said or thinks something about someone isn't the same as saying it yourself.

fini · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:55

Yes you can and will get sued. Repeating an untruth that subsequently causes harm will get you in just as much harm as if you said it yourself.

EDIT:Just reread what you're planning on doing. If you're just linking to them rather than repeating them on your page then no you can't be sued.

Jambo · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:58

I read this recently.

On the web, the writer, the web site owner and the ISP can all be sued just like the writer, the magazine and the distributor in the print field. A link could also be potentially defamatory if you are linking to defamatory material.

http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.html

lord filbuster · 30 Jul 2008 at 16:58

^ i imagine that would only count if you specifically said that the link was true without checking.

fini · 30 Jul 2008 at 17:00

Disclaimers are nice, but very rarely do they carry any legal weight.

Cryogenic · 30 Jul 2008 at 17:07

Lysander said:
Libel is written defamatory comments.
Slander is spoken defamatory comments.

Just so you know the distinction.

And no, you couldn't.

Whoops, thank's for clarifying

Cryogenic · 30 Jul 2008 at 17:08

Jambo said:
I read this recently.

http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.html

Crickey, that would open a minefield with people innocently linking to genuine material.

fini · 30 Jul 2008 at 17:10

Who can spot what's so glaringly wrong about the copyright notice on the site

link

I lolled.

semi-pro waster · 30 Jul 2008 at 18:09

fini said:
Who can spot what's so glaringly wrong about the copyright notice on the site

link

I lolled.

"you grant an indefinite licence to urban75* to reproduce your words"? Because that is clearly wrong or were you thinking of something else?

As for the original question; if you are merely linking then I don't think you would run much risk of getting sued although as fini says most disclaimers are worth SFA.

ConTRo13R · 30 Jul 2008 at 18:11

There is no free speech here.

What happened to freedom of speech? can we have it here!

semi-pro waster · 30 Jul 2008 at 18:20

ConTRo13R said:
What happened to freedom of speech? can we have it here!

I think you are confusing threads here but nope, highly unlikely given entirely free speech would mean that we could mention competitors, swear, discuss topics of an adult nature etc etc. I'm quite happy that we can't so I can still view these forums in work most of the time. The standard answer is that if you don't like it, you don't have to post here.

ConTRo13R · 30 Jul 2008 at 18:25

semi-pro waster said:
I think you are confusing threads here but nope, highly unlikely given entirely free speech would mean that we could mention competitors, swear, discuss topics of an adult nature etc etc. I'm quite happy that we can't so I can still view these forums in work most of the time. The standard answer is that if you don't like it, you don't have to post here.

eveything worth a try at least once lol

Libel / Slander

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