Society of Homeopaths v. Netcetera [1]

The UK-based Society of Homeopaths sent a cease-and-desist letter to web host Netcetera demanding that it remove a post from Le Canard Noir's Quackometer [2] blog entitled "The Gentle Art of Homeopathic Killing."

The Society alleged that the post, which criticized it for refusing to condemn the acts of homeopaths who claimed that they could provide pills that prevent and cure malaria, was defamatory. Netcetera complied with the demand and removed the post on October 11, 2007. Andy Lewis (a.k.a Le Canard Noir), wrote to the Society seeking clarification about which statements in particular were allegedly false and defamatory. The Society refused to provide these details, but apparently again wrote to Netcetera complaining that it had been contacted directly by Lewis.

According to DC's Improbable Science [3], within 24 hours of the takedown the post had been reposted on scores of blogs and news groups all around the world. The post is still reposted in many of these locations, suggesting that the Society has not attempted to stop these republications.

Netcetera received and complied with a similar letter from Dublin-based alternative medicine practitioner Dr. Joseph Chikelue Obi. See the CMLP database entry, Obi v. Netcetera [4].