Third-Party Content

Cook County Sheriff Sues Craigslist for Creating a "Public Nuisance"

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Last Thursday, Thomas Dart, the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, filed a lawsuit against online classified site Craigslist, claiming that the site is a "public nuisance" because its users post ads in the "erotic services" category that facilitate prostitution.  Yes, you read that correctly.  The top law enforcement officer in Cook County is using a civil lawsuit to go after Craigslist because he believes users of the si

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Juicy Campus Dies - Holmes' Posse Rejoices

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Juicy Campus -- often the target of anti-free-speech types in higher education has died. And I am glad.

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Juicy No More

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You know the economy's bad when even college rumor-mongering isn't making a profit any more.  That's right, JuicyCampus.com, the website dedicated to anonymously posted collegiate gossip, has closed up shop.  In a post announcing the shutdown, Matt Ivester, the founder and CEO, put the blame on "these historically difficult economic times,&q

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California Anti-SLAPP Project Takes Up Case for Yelp and Parents Sued Over Negative Dentist Review

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On January 21, the California Anti-SLAPP Project (CASP) filed a special motion to strike the complaint of Yvonne Wong, a pediatric dentist who sued Yelp! Inc. and two parents based on a negative review of her services the parents posted on Yelp. 

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Two New Ripoff Report Cases Filed

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Eric Goldman reminds us (here, here) that angry companies and individuals are still suing Xcentric Ventures, LLC and Ed Magedson left and right over reports submitted to Ripoff Report.  Ripoff Report is a website that allows users to post reports about individuals and companies that they believe have "ripped them off" or treated them unfair

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Print-on-Demand Service BookSurge Deemed Not To Be a "Publisher"

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Back in July, a federal court in Maine ruled that BookSurge, a print-on-demand service owned by Amazon.com, was not liable for defamatory statements contained in a book it "published" on behalf of one of its clients.  Sandler v. Calcagni, 2008 WL 2761892 (D. Me.

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Blogger and Maryland Police Chief Settle Defamation Lawsuit

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Last week, Salisbury, Maryland Police Chief Allan Webster and Joe Albero, operator of the Salisbury News blog, reached a settlement in Webster's defamation and false light lawsuit, just hours before the case was scheduled for trial.

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Google Execs Face Charges in Italy Over Third Party Content

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Does the European Union offer web hosts any protection from liability for the content of third parties, a la section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230) or the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?  This looks to be a key question for four current and former Google executives, as Italian prosecutors prepare to launch criminal charges against them over a video hosted by

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