The legal implications of blogs
This is a modified version of a Tech Beat article that ran in the Times-Standard business section (called TECH TUESDAY) on December 20, 2005. I offer it reheated here as a follow-up to the Blog-o-slander posting from last week. I also offer it as a reverse of my habit of recycling postings from this blog to use for occasional Tech Beat articles. For past Tech Beat articles, some of which are quite good and informative, go the the Redwood Technology Consortium website.
I admit that I wasn't a big fan of blogging for a long time, and I shared the opinion of those that called it the most over rated technology advancement of 2005. However, I've come to change my mind about blogs as they now become mainstream. I suggest you check with Google.com or Wikipedia to learn more about the blog phenomenon, but this article will focus on the legal implications of blogs.
WHAT ARE THE LIABILITIES?
Any time you make oral statements or write about other people, products or services, you expose yourself to legal liabilities, including defamation, intellectual property infringement (copyright/trademark), and trade secret violation. Posting these opinions on a website provides a paper trail attributing the utterances to you. Even if your posted opinions don't cross the line into libel or slander, you could violate someone's privacy rights by disclosing too much about health history, finances, residence addresses or other personal information.
WHERE TO GO FOR HELP
The first stop to learning out your legal blogging exposure is the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), that publishes a Legal Guide for Bloggers. There is a wealth of good information here including a Frequently Asked Questions, guides for blogging journalists, guides for student bloggers and even tips to mask your identity. All the content here is in plain English and easy to understand.
WHAT SHOULD I WATCH FOR?
Some particular tips to avoid legal exposure for bloggers include:
# If you quote from some other publication, only use short excerpts to avoid copyright violations.
# It's OK to use the truth about something or someone as a defense against libel, but make sure it's provable.
# While you may be protected under free speech rights to criticize your employer, that won't necessarily protect you from being fired.
# Don't try to avoid exposure by merely saying "in my opinion," or vaguely describing who the person is that you are criticizing, because neither of these ruses will protect you.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE SUED
By all means contact a lawyer if you get sued for something related to your blog. Also, go to the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, a joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, University of San Francisco, University of Maine, George Washington School of Law, and Santa Clara University School of Law clinics. This site has loads of self-help resources to enable you to deal with the legal issues on your own, or help you through advice and referrals.
Safe blogging requires some research. Y'all be careful out there, 'ya hear?
Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com