The Internet is not the safe-haven you thought it was
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-10-02-bloggers-courts_x.htm
This, my friends, is a chilling reminder that the Internet is not free from the long arm of the law. Now, in some cases having control of Internet activities can be a good thing (like in the the case of pedophiles and other predators). However, when it comes down to the private feelings of a journal entry, things get a lot more dicey. People often use their journals to vent, forgetting they are visible to countless others (even friends-only entries cannot save you...even if you know all of your "friends" it's possible that they accidently leave the page open, allowing someone else to stumble upon your thoughts?).
The problem is that personal lawsuits are targetting blogs for libel and defamation, making the following scenario a possibility:
1) Person "X" feels sleighted at Person "Y" (for whatever reason, true or not)
2) "X" vents about "Y" in their blog (perhaps saying things that are a matter of opinion, or just not true)
3) "Y" somehow finds out about "X"'s "ramblings"
4) "Y" sues "X" to shut them up (and for a little cash on the side)
And so it goes.
Lesson 1: Be very careful what you say in public.
Lesson 2: No matter what you think it is, the Internet is public.
Just ask Arnold Schwarzenegger.
This, my friends, is a chilling reminder that the Internet is not free from the long arm of the law. Now, in some cases having control of Internet activities can be a good thing (like in the the case of pedophiles and other predators). However, when it comes down to the private feelings of a journal entry, things get a lot more dicey. People often use their journals to vent, forgetting they are visible to countless others (even friends-only entries cannot save you...even if you know all of your "friends" it's possible that they accidently leave the page open, allowing someone else to stumble upon your thoughts?).
The problem is that personal lawsuits are targetting blogs for libel and defamation, making the following scenario a possibility:
1) Person "X" feels sleighted at Person "Y" (for whatever reason, true or not)
2) "X" vents about "Y" in their blog (perhaps saying things that are a matter of opinion, or just not true)
3) "Y" somehow finds out about "X"'s "ramblings"
4) "Y" sues "X" to shut them up (and for a little cash on the side)
And so it goes.
Lesson 1: Be very careful what you say in public.
Lesson 2: No matter what you think it is, the Internet is public.
Just ask Arnold Schwarzenegger.