Welcome to the Citizen Media Law Brief, a weekly newsletter highlighting recent blog posts, media law news, legal threat entries, and other new content on the Citizen Media Law Project's website. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the CMLP or registered on our site, www.citmedialaw.org. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, you can unsubscribe by following the link at the bottom of this email or by going to http://www.citmedialaw.org/newsletter/subscriptions.

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The latest from the Citizen Media Law Project blog...

David Ardia notes that the judge in the Phelps case failed to adequately address an important First Amendment issue.
Judge Reduces Verdict in Snyder v. Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church Still on the Hook for $5 Million

Sam Bayard discusses a new anonymity case from California.
Krinsky v. Doe 6: New Decision from California Provides Strong Protection for Anonymous Speech

David Ardia evaluates the impact of not funding the FOIA Ombudsman.
Bush Refuses to Fund New FOIA Ombudsman, Takes the Heart Out of Open Government Reform Law

CMLP Staff looks at the advantages and disadvantages of certain business structures for use in online publishing ventures.
Highlights from the Legal Guide: Choosing a Business Form

CMLP Staff follows up on James Goodale's show discussing CDA 230 and AutoAdmit
Goodale TV on CDA 230 and AutoAdmit

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Other citizen media law news...

Copyright in Letters
The Patry Copyright Blog - Fri. 2/8/08

Humorless Metalheads Shut Down Popular YouTuber
Wired - Wed. 2/6/08

Controversial college antipiracy bill nears House vote
CNET News Blog - Wed. 2/6/08

Wikipedia Refuses to Remove Pictures of Mohammed from Entry
Volokh Conspiracy - Tues. 2/5/08

Karzai Pondering Journalist's Death Sentence
Editor & Publisher - Tues. 2/5/08

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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...

Commissioner Bob Cranmer v. Voice PAC
Posted February 8th, 2008

Krinsky v. Doe 6
Posted February 7th, 2008

Hollo v. Lechuga
Posted February 5th, 2008

Church of Scientology v. Gawker
Posted February 5th, 2008

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The full(er) Brief...

"Earlier this week, a federal District Court judge in Maryland more than halved a $10.9 million jury verdict against the Westboro Baptist Church, a fundamentalist Christian church in Kansas, and three of its leading members. Among other things, the church publishes a website at 'www.godhatesfags.com' and advocates the view that God kills U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan as punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality. Westboro Baptist has gained notoriety in recent years for staging protests at the funerals of U.S. soldiers in order to draw attention to its message."
David Ardia, Judge Reduces Verdict in Snyder v. Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church Still on the Hook for $5 Million

"A California appellate court issued a new anonymity decision yesterday in Krinsky v. Doe 6, H030767 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 6, 2008). . . . In line with the recent trend towards increased protection for anonymous speech online, the California court came out with a test that puts a significant evidentiary burden on a plaintiff before allowing disclosure of an anonymous Internet speaker's identity. . . . Krinsky requires a plaintiff to make a 'prima facie showing' that he or she has a valid legal claim against the anonymous speaker before allowing disclosure of the speaker's identity. The court made it clear that the prima facie showing required Krinsky to bring forward evidence (not just allegations) to support each element of her claims, except for those elements that were beyond her control or dependent on the identity of the defendant."
Sam Bayard, Krinsky v. Doe 6: New Decision from California Provides Strong Protection for Anonymous Speech

"Well, that was quick. Mere weeks after signing the 'OPEN Government Act of 2007' on December 31, 2007, which significantly reformed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), President Bush is now attempting to cut out the heart of the OPEN Government Act by refusing to fund the newly created FOIA ombudsman's office. . . . Bush's insistence that the Department of Justice be the sole arbiter of compliance is clearly an evisceration of the Act's oversight requirements. After all, as The Washington Post remarked: 'The Justice Department has hardly shown itself to be a strong supporter of public information requests: After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft issued a memo urging agencies to use all legal means to refuse public document requests.'"
David Ardia, Bush Refuses to Fund New FOIA Ombudsman, Takes the Heart Out of Open Government Reform Law

"This is the first in a series of posts calling attention to some of the topics covered in the recently launched Citizen Media Law Project Legal Guide. The first topic we'll take up is choosing a business form for online publishing activities. There is increasing awareness that, especially if you publish content in collaboration with others, it may not be smart to simply leave the relationship 'natural' or informal. But this realization raises other questions: What are my options? What are the benefits of legal formality? Will it be expensive to obtain these benefits? Will I have to sacrifice control? [Here] is an excerpt from the legal guide giving a brief introduction to some of the most commonly adopted business structures and pointing out some of their most salient advantages and disadvantages. This page in the guide is just a jumping-off point for in-depth discussions on each of the business forms that you can find in the guide. In the end, the choice between business forms is a personal one. Our hope is that the legal guide will help you understand the issues and make a better-informed decision."
CMLP Staff, Highlights from the Legal Guide: Choosing a Business Form

"Sam Bayard blogged previously about James Goodale's article on CDA 230 and the highly publicized AutoAdmit case. In the article, Goodale argues that CDA 230, the federal law that shields providers of 'interactive computer service[s]' from liability for defamation and other torts for publishing the statements of third parties, should be amended to impose liability in cases where a website operator 'knowingly causes defamation by refusing to take down libelous posts.' On Sunday, on his show 'Digital Age,' Goodale moderated a discussion between Michael Fertik, the CEO of ReputationDefender.com, and Beth Simone Noveck, a professor at New York Law School, about CDA 230, anonymity, and the AutoAdmit case."
CMLP Staff, Goodale TV on CDA 230 and AutoAdmit