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...

Courtney French discusses the benefits of licensing online works.
Who's in Control of Your Online Content?

Andrew Moshirnia argues for harnessing soccer fans' enthusiasm to further social change.
Fool's Gold - Athletes, Sports Associations, and Citizen Speech

Sam Bayard reports on the positive outcome of a recent CMLP amicus effort.
Ninth Circuit Amends Barnes v. Yahoo! Decision, Addresses Concerns Raised by Yahoo! and Amici

David Ardia announces CMLP's amicus filing in the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter case in New Hampshire.
Berkman's Cyberlaw Clinic Submits Amicus Brief in Case Involving Prior Restraint and Reporter's Privilege

Andrew Moshirnia reports on Bozeman, Montana's brief foray into social networking surveillance.
The Facebook Snatchers: Could your Employer Hijack your Account?

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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...

Jacob v. Bezzant
Posted June 26, 2009

Bible & Gospel Trust v. Twinam
Posted June 26, 2009

Blixseth v. Bresnan Communications
Posted June 25, 2009

Cafiero v. Custer
Posted June 25, 2009

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Other citizen media law news...

Posner’s dangerous thinking
BuzzMachine - Fri. 6/26/09

'Corzine Times': Infringemnt? Parody? Satire? Homage?
Copyights & Campaigns - Thur. 6/25/09

Growing pains, part 2: Can grassroots journalism help underserved communities?
Knight Digital Media Center - Wed. 6/24/09

FTC plans to monitor blogs for claims, payments
The Associated Press  - Sun. 6/21/09

Derby blogger court case points up risks over comments
New Haven Register - Sun. 6/21/09 

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The full(er) Brief...

"Meet the Smiths: They've just been chosen to be the poster family for a Prague grocery store's advertising campaign. But the Smiths are not models or even contest winners -- they're just an ordinary family from O'Fallon, Missouri, whose photo was lifted from the mother's blog, Extraordinary Mommy, for use in a life-size advertisement half a world away. The store never asked for the Smiths' permission; in fact, the family found out about the ad only by coincidence from a friend living in Prague. . . . Although the Smiths' situation is unusual, it is not unprecedented, and it serves as a reminder of the vulnerability of content you choose to post online. While it's difficult to stop a bad actor set on simply stealing your work, you can obtain a measure of control by licensing your online content. Licensing your work in a clear manner can help good-faith users know what's OK and what's not. . . ."
Courtney French, Who's in Control of Your Online Content?

"The Iranian government has been busy in its efforts to smother free expression. The regime has raided school meetings, newsrooms, political offices, blocked social networks, and slowed the Internet to a crawl. Yesterday, the regime added the soccer pitch to the list of areas that have been soiled in defense of the double plus good democratic 'election' results. This should remind us all of the power of athlete speech and the heavy-handed means governments and sports associations use to ensure silence. Four Iranian soccer players have been permanently 'retired' due to their display of solidarity with those protesting the results of the recent Iranian election. The players, Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Hosein Ka'abi, and Vahid Hashemian, wore green (a symbol used by opposition leader Mir Moussavi) wristbands during their match against South Korea. The regime justified the ban due to the players' 'government interference.' . . . . The loss of four players will weaken Iran's national team, but this is unimportant in the short term since Iran's bid to qualify for the World Cup in 2010 is now over. But hopefully the regime's latest intrusion in the sports scene will have other repercussions. If and when ESPN picks up the story, over a million viewers will be reminded of the ongoing injustices in Iran. It might also spur FIFA to take strong actions against Iran's ability to participate in future matches. . . ." 
Andrew Moshirnia, Fool's Gold - Athletes, Sports Associations, and Citizen Speech

"Back in May, the CMLP joined Public Citizen, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in submitting an amicus curiae brief in support of Yahoo!'s petition for rehearing in the Barnes v. Yahoo! case. On Monday, we got some good news when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order amending its previous decision. The amended opinion does not alter the court's previous conclusion that plaintiff Cecilia Barnes may pursue a contract-like claim against Yahoo! based on an employee's promise to take down a false website profile, notwithstanding the immunity for interactive computer services in section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. This is no surprise because Yahoo! didn't ask the court to revisit that holding. Rather, the amended opinion makes two important changes requested by both Yahoo! and amici in their briefs. First, the Ninth Circuit deleted a section of its previous opinion stating that a defendant like Yahoo! may not raise a Section 230 defense on a motion to dismiss. While this sounds highly technical, it's critically important, and we are glad to see the Ninth Circuit change course on this point. A motion to dismiss is ordinarily the best opportunity for a defendant to get a weak lawsuit thrown out before going through the expensive and time-consuming process of discovery. In Section 230 cases, the availability of this quick 'out' helps website operators and other online intermediaries avoid protracted legal battles and furthers Congress' purpose of encouraging the lively exchange of views and information online. . . ." 
Sam Bayard, Ninth Circuit Amends Barnes v. Yahoo! Decision, Addresses Concerns Raised by Yahoo! and Amici

"Today, Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic submitted an amicus curiae brief urging the New Hampshire Supreme Court to defend the First Amendment rights of a website that covers news about the mortgage industry. The Cyberlaw Clinic, with the assistance of local counsel Paul Apple of Drummond Woodsum & MacMahon in Portsmouth, NH, filed the friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Citizen Media Law Project and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) in the case of The Mortgage Specialists, Inc. v. Implode-Explode Heavy Industries, Inc. The lawsuit involves The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter, a website covering news related to the mortgage industry, that posted a New Hampshire Banking Department document, obtained from an anonymous source. That document described certain business practices of the Mortgage Specialists, Inc., a lending company under investigation in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. After the mortgage company discovered the disclosure, it sued the website's operators, demanding that the document be removed and that the anonymous source be identified. The Rockingham County Superior Court granted these requests, and the case is presently on appeal. . . . In their brief, the amici focused on a series of cases in which courts permitted the publication of confidential or controversial documents - from the U.S. Supreme Court in the famed Pentagon Papers case through recent cases involving recorded cell phone conversations and videos of police searches posted online. Amici also provided extensive caselaw support for the proposition that anonymous news sources should be protected. . . ." 
David Ardia, Berkman's Cyberlaw Clinic Submits Amicus Brief in Case Involving Prior Restraint and Reporter's Privilege

"Let's assume you are employed, use Facebook, have a decent grasp of privacy settings, and want to occassionally express your opinion. Welcome to Facebook Club. The first rule of Facebook Club is 'Do not friend your employers.' The second rule of Facebook Club is 'DO NOT friend your employers.' We all know about the tragic consequences that can follow the violation of these simple rules. One click on a friendship request turns your computer into an Orwellian telescreen and suddenly your boss can monitor your 'Am I bedridden or at the ballgame' status. But the government of Bozeman, Montana elected to bypass the covert survellience of social networks. Instead, it opted for the overt. Until last Friday, all applicants for city jobs in Bozeman were required to 'list any and all current ... memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs, or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.' Oh, and after you list your username, be sure to give us your password. That's right. A city in Montana demanded unlimited access to the digital identities of its employees in a sort of never-ending background check. . . ." 
Andrew Moshirnia, The Facebook Snatchers: Could your Employer Hijack your Account?

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