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...
Kimberley Isbell surveys this week's discussions on the future of journalism.
The Future of Journalism and How to Start It
Marc Randazza reports on this week's Section 230 opinion from the Ninth Circuit.
Barnes v. Yahoo: Section 230 Does Not Insulate Online Service Provider From Contractual Liability
Eric Robinson has a warning for content creators: avoid the online equivalent of throwing a shoe in the Middle East.
Lesson of "Communist" Libel Cases in Vietnamese Community: Know Your Audience
Sam Bayard reminds the South Carolina Attorney General about a little thing called the First Amendment.
South Carolina Attorney General Threatens Craigslist With Criminal Prosecution Over User Content
Sam Bayard points out the dangers of the pot calling the kettle black.
Perez Hilton Sends DMCA Takedown Over Anti-Gay-Marriage Ad
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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...
National Organization for Marriage v. Maddow
Posted May 6th, 2009
Miss Universe v. National Organization for Marriage
Posted May 6th, 2009
Freeman v. Rucinsky
Posted May 6th, 2009
St. Charles County Election Authority v. Doe
Posted May 6th, 2009
Lavandeira v. National Organization for Marriage
Posted May 6th, 2009
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Other citizen media law news...
Who owns the facts? The AP and the "hot news" controversy
Ars Technica - Wed. 05/06/09
Facebook's E-mail Censorship is Legally Dubious, Experts Say
Wired/Epicenter - Wed. 05/06/09
Craigslist becomes political pinata
CNET - Wed. 05/06/09
Prison awaiting hostile bloggers
Wired/Threat Level - Tues. 05/05/09
Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld: California Acts to Stop Libel Tourism
Huffington Post - Tues. 05/05/09
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The full(er) Brief...
"'Where do we go from here?' In the wake of the demise of local papers like the Rocky Mountain News and the well-publicized battle between the New York Times Co. and the Boston Globe's unions, this question has increasingly been on the lips of media professionals and those interested in the future of journalism in the Internet age. This past week, lawmakers, professional journalists, and representatives of some of the most successful Internet ventures all weighed in with their own predictions and prescriptions. Turning a spotlight on recent developments in the media, Senator John Kerry on Wednesday convened a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet to investigate 'The Future of Journalism'. . . ."
Kimberley Isbell, The Future of Journalism and How to Start It
"This is an interesting Section 230 decision from the Ninth Circuit that clarifies one of the many possible lines between enjoying Section 230 protection and losing it, namely what kinds of legal claims treat an interactive computer services as a 'publisher or speaker' within the meaning of the statute and what kinds do not. It should also serve as a cautionary tale for online service providers including bloggers who allow comments. . . . The moral of the story? If you are an online service provider (including a blogger who allows comments on your blog) and someone calls you up or emails you and asks that you remove objectionable material, you have two choices: 1) You can refuse to do so and rest assured that Section 230 will likely provide you with immunity; or, 2) If you say you will remove the material, follow through on your promise to do so, because once you say you will, you have modified the 'baseline rule' of Section 230."
Marc Randazza, Barnes v. Yahoo: Section 230 Does Not Insulate Online Service Provider From Contractual Liability
"In the United States after the Cold War, saying that someone is a Communist may not have the same sting that it did during the the decades of tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies. But within the past three years, courts in California, Minnesota and Washington have held that calling someone a Communist can be the basis of a valid libel claim when the audience is the Vietnamese-American community, which consists mostly of refugees who fled the Communist regime in their native land after the Vietnam War. . . . The bottom line for creators of content, both online and off? Know your audience and its sensitivities. . . ."
Eric Robinson, Lesson of "Communist" Libel Cases in Vietnamese Community: Know Your Audience
"A new sortie in the battle over craigslist's 'erotic services' section came today when South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster sent a letter to craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster threatening company management with 'criminal investigation and prosecution' over the website's alleged facilitation of prostitution and -- more unexpectedly -- its hosting of 'graphic pornographic pictures' posted by craigslist users. The letter gave the website until May 15, 2009 to permanently remove those portions of the site 'containing categories for and functions allowing for the solicitation of prostitution and the dissemination and posting of graphic pornographic material,' and threatened legal action if it did not comply. . . . While the Miller test is difficult to apply in practice -- Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously solved the difficulty by declaring 'I know it when I see it' -- it sets a high enough bar that most of the pornography available online is not legally 'obscene' (hence its availability). Believe me, pathetic pictures posted in the 'casual encounters' section aren't even in the ballpark. . . ."
Sam Bayard, South Carolina Attorney General Threatens Craigslist With Criminal Prosecution Over User Content
"The blogosphere is buzzing about Perez Hilton's recent foray into copyright bullying. Last week, the celebrity blogger, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, sent a DMCA takedown notice to YouTube, claiming that a new advocacy ad from the National Organization for Marriage ('NOM') which was posted on the video-sharing site violated his copyright. (NOM is the anti-gay-marriage group that brought us the inadvertently hysterical ad 'Gathering Storm,' which spawned some hilarious parodies including an especially good one from Stephen Colbert.) In response to Lavandeira's notice, YouTube removed the video. . . . It's sad to see someone like Lavandeira -- who has so much to gain from a more reasonable view of copyright -- taking such a squinting view of fair use. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Perez Hilton Sends DMCA Takedown Over Anti-Gay-Marriage Ad
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