Week of July 4, 2008 [1]
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...
Jason Crow analyzes a pending bill in New York that would explicitly permit the recording of public meetings.
NY Law Would Allow Citizens to Record and Broadcast Government Meetings [2]
Arthur Bright reports on a photographer who was arrested for taking photos on a public street.
Miami Judge Drops Hammer on Photojournalist Who Took Cops' Picture [3]
Sam Bayard updates us on the defamation lawsuit against Wikimedia Foundation.
Citing CDA 230, Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Against Wikimedia Foundation [4]
Tuna Chatterjee on last week's Global Voices gathering.
Global Voices Summit 2008 [5]
Sam Bayard discusses a court's decision to unmask anonymous LoHud.com posters.
Judge Says Former Congressman Can Get Names of Anonymous Posters from LoHud.com [6]
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Recent threats added to the CMLP database... [7]
Posted July 3rd, 2008
Tucson Greyhound Park v. Zoldan [9]
Posted July 3rd, 2008
Ramsey v. Harman [10]
Posted July 1st, 2008
Ottinger v. The Journal News [11]
Posted June 30th, 2008
New York v. The Journal News [12]
Posted June 30th, 2008
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Other citizen media law news...
EFF Deeplinks [13] - Wed. 7/2/08
In Court Ruling on Executions, a Factual Flaw
The New York Times [14] - Wed. 7/2/08
Mo. governor signs anti-cyberbullying bill into law
First Amendment Center [15] - Tues. 7/1/08
PCC rules Scarborough Evening News drug raid video "highly intrusive"
Press Gazette [16] - Tues. 7/1/08
Copyright Office discovers web forms, online submissions
Ars Technica [17] - Mon. 6/30/08
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The full(er) Brief...
"A bill pending in the New York Legislature would allow the public to photograph, videotape, and audio record public meetings in New York, providing better access to government deliberations and information. It would impose two minor conditions: the photographing or recording activity must not be disruptive, and the public body holding the meeting can regulate where equipment and personnel are located in the room. The bill is an amendment to section 103 of the New York Open Meetings Law, which gives the public a right of access to the meetings of a large number of government bodies at the state and local level. . . . [T]he ability to record and broadcast public meetings is an extremely powerful way of holding government accountable. The message the law sends is that government works better when citizens are engaged and the lawmaking process is transparent and open to public scrutiny. . . . "
Jason Crow, NY Law Would Allow Citizens to Record and Broadcast Government Meetings [2]
"'Photography is not a crime, it’s a First Amendment right,' proclaims the title of photojournalist Carlos Miller’s blog. Nonetheless, a jury found Miller guilty of obstructing traffic and resisting arrest without violence during his encounter last year with five Miami police officers that he photographed on a public street. As a result, Miami County Court Judge Jose Fernandez sentenced him to one year of probation,100 hours of community service, anger management lessons, and over $500 in court fees, well in excess of the three months probation the prosecutor had been seeking. . . .[E]ven if Miller's arrest was legal, his sentencing is problematic and merits appeal. According to another post on Miller's blog, Judge Fernandez seems to have taken personal exception to Miller's lack of remorse, saying that it 'appall[ed]' him. While Judge Fernandez is welcome to his personal opinion about Miller, under Florida law, he cannot use Miller's lack of remorse to impose a harsher sentence. . . ."
Arthur Bright, Miami Judge Drops Hammer on Photojournalist Who Took Cops' Picture [3]
"News reports (here, here) indicate that New Jersey Superior Court Judge Jamie S. Perri dismissed Barbara Bauer's defamation lawsuit against the Wikimedia Foundation yesterday. In what appears to have been an oral ruling from the bench, the court relied on section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230), which protects providers and users of interactive computer services from state-law tort liability for publishing the statements of third parties, to dismiss Bauer's claims. (For more on CDA 230, see our Primer on Immunity and Liability for Third-Party Content Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act). . . .The court's conclusion that CDA 230 barred Bauer's claim is not terribly surprising because she did not make concrete factual allegations suggesting that anyone other than an ordinary, third-party Wikipedia user posted the allegedly defamatory statements. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Citing CDA 230, Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Against Wikimedia Foundation [4]
"Last week, Global Voices held a summit in Budapest, Hungary for its
members and the wider community of bloggers, activists, technologists,
journalists and others from around the world. Called the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008, the two day event focused on the topic of 'Citizen Media & Citizenhood.'. . . Attendees came from all over the world: Mauritania, Colombia,
Bangladesh and Tajikistan, to name a few. Initial reports have been glowing. . . ."
Tuna Chatterjee, Global Voices Summit 2008 [5]
Sam Bayard, Judge Says Former Congressman Can Get Names of Anonymous Posters from LoHud.com [6]
