Week of September 5, 2008

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...

Sam Bayard looks at a recent ruling on anonymous speech in the newsgathering process.
Montana Shield Law Protects Anonymous Commenters

David Ardia analyzes a Massachusetts lawsuit that raises questions about opinion and defamation, as well as the applicability of the state's anti-SLAPP and retraction statutes.
Cape Cod Blogger Peter Robbins Sued For Libel Over Comments About Local Dredging Dispute

Dan Gillmor lauds PublicResource.org's decision to post the entire California Code of Regulations online.
Copyright Challenge in New Push for Open Government Data

Sam Bayard discusses whether New York's fair report privilege protects a law blogger.
New York Lawyer Sues Law Blogger for Reporting on Malpractice Lawsuit

David Ardia highlights a recent Lawyer2Lawyer podcast about the MIT students who planned to disclose their research at DEFCON.
Analysis of the MBTA's Lawsuit Against Three MIT Students Who Discovered Flaws in the T's Fare System

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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...

Albritton v. Cisco Systems, Inc.
Posted September 3, 2008

Parker v. Learn The Skills
Posted September 3, 2008

Dailey v. Popma
Posted September 3, 2008

LDS Church v. Wikileaks
Posted September 3, 2008

Vanginderen v. Cornell
Posted August 29, 2008

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Other citizen media law news...

Judge Wu to Lori Drew: No speedy dismissal of federal criminal charges in MySpace hoax suicide case for you
How Appealing - Thurs. 09/04/08

Subpoena names AutoAdmit commenter
Yale Daily News - Wed. 09/03/08

Australian Blogger Arrested in Thailand for Insulting King
Committee to Protect Bloggers - Wed. 09/03/08

Juicy Campus Expands Its Libelous Gossip Machine
TechCrunch - Tues. 09/02/08

Journalists arrested as protests open outside RNC
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press - Tues. 09/02/08

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The full(er) Brief...

''Judge Todd Baugh of Montana's 13th Judicial District ruled on Wednesday that Montana's shield law protects an online newspaper from having to disclose the identities of anonymous commenters. The ruling treats anonymous commenters like other confidential sources, whose identities are commonly protected by state shield laws. . . .  Montana's shield law, known as the Media Confidentiality Act, says that a news organization or any person 'connected with or employed by [a news organization] for the purpose of gathering, writing, editing, or disseminating news' may not be required to identify the source of information obtained or prepared in the course of newsgathering. Mont. Code § 26-1-902(1). This is an absolute privilege, and the party seeking information may not overcome it under any circumstances. Many states, like Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina, allow the party seeking information to overcome the privilege by showing a pressing need for the information and its unavailability from other sources. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Montana Shield Law Protects Anonymous Commenters

"Peter Robbins, author of the Robbins Report, a blog that appears on the popular community website Cape Cod Today, and an anonymous commenter have been sued over statements they made criticizing a group of Barnstable, MA residents who opposed the dredging of Barnstable Harbor.  The case raises a host of interesting questions, including whether the statements at issue are protected opinions and the potential applicability of Massachusetts' anti-SLAPP and retraction statutes. . . .  Although the [retraction] statute doesn't state whether it applies to online publishers, the legislature's use of the phrase 'publication of libel' without limitation would seem to suggest that an online publisher is covered by the retraction statute.  If this issue is raised in this case (it doesn't appear to have been raised so far), I believe it would be the first case to address whether the Massachusetts retraction statute applies to a blog publisher and what types of changes qualify as a "retraction" in the online context."
David Ardia, Cape Cod Blogger Peter Robbins Sued For Libel Over Comments About Local Dredging Dispute

"Carl Malamud, a hero in providing access to information, has posted online the 38-volume California Code of Regulations, over which the state claims copyright ownership. He's been doing things like this for a while, but the California code is a big deal in every respect. The Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat has the story."
Dan Gillmor, Copyright Challenge in New Push for Open Government Data

"Brooklyn attorney Marina Tylo filed a lawsuit against Andrew Lavoott Bluestone of the New York Attorney Malpractice Blog last week. According to the Summons with Notice, Tylo seeks $10,000,000 in damages for libel, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and tortious interference with prospective contractual relations . . . . Unless I'm missing something, this looks like a purely frivolous case, perhaps a situation where sanctions against Tylo are appropriate. As explained in our legal guide, section 74 of the New York Civil Rights Law codifies the fair report privilege. Under the statute, speakers cannot be held liable for giving a 'fair and true report of any judicial proceeding, legislative proceeding or other official proceeding.' . . ."
Sam Bayard, New York Lawyer Sues Law Blogger for Reporting on Malpractice Lawsuit

"Our very own Tuna Chatterjee is featured this week on the award-winning legal-affairs podcast Lawyer2Lawyer.  Tuna discusses the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) recent lawsuit against three MIT students who discovered significant security flaws in the MBTA's fare system. Tuna was joined by Marc Randazza, a First Amendment attorney and author of the blog The Legal Satyricon.  You can hear their excellent analysis of the case here."
David Ardia, Analysis of the MBTA's Lawsuit Against Three MIT Students Who Discovered Flaws in the T's Fare System