Tulelake, CA— Free speech policies
“Freedom of speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Internet bullies shouldn't use the law to stifle legitimate free expression.”
Sweet, no one will ever be able to find out my identity!
Not quite. If you try to blog anonymously through a third-party service, you may be subject to subpoenas seeking your identity from your blogging service provider. EFF has written a guide to blogging anonymously that may help you, and Reporters Without Borders has a guide to anonymizing technology.
Oh no, my ISP was subpoenaed for my identity!
If you receive notice of a subpoena and you wish to retain your anonymity, you should contact an attorney about filing a motion to quash (drop) the subpoena. Many courts have required the subpoenaing party to show a compelling need for the information that outweighs the speakers' constitutional rights to free speech and privacy. For more information, see this list of EFF cases on online anonymity.
Hey — my ISP took down my protected speech. Did it violate my constitutional rights?
No. The First Amendment protects you against government censorship and prevents the courts from enforcing a private-party action that violates the First Amendment, but it does not require a private party (like your ISP) to host speech. Indeed, the First Amendment also includes the right not to speak and that protects your ISP against claims that it "must" host whatever you decide to say.
Should I publicize cease-and-desist letters?
You betcha! Unwarranted cease-and-desist letters chill perfectly legitimate speech. The Chilling Effects Clearinghouse is collecting a database of cease-and-desist letters to document the chill. Chilling Effects also annotates the notices to help you understand your legal rights.
Are the legal issues with forums, bulletin boards, chat rooms, web pages and the like significantly different from blogs?
No. While Legal Guide for Bloggers is focused on blogs, the legal issues discussed here are broadly applicable to a wide variety of types of online publishing. For example, a web page where you place your thoughts and opinions is similar to a blog. An online forum where people can post comments is similar to the comment section of a blog. Do the commenters on my blog have a First Amendment right to say whatever they want in the comments? Generally no. Unless you are a government entity operating a public forum, you have a First Amendment right to publish your blog in the way that you want, which includes the right to choose who may participate in discussions on your blog. Nevertheless, we encourage you to allow wide-open and robust debates in the comments on your blogs. Private action to edit or delete comments may be legal, but can also exclude important voices from a debate.
I’m upset that a moderator disemvowelled my comments. Is that illegal?
No. While we are aware of no court cases regarding disemvowelling, removing the vowels from a post is a form of criticism and commentary on that post. Even if it not explicitly permitted by the blog’s terms of use or an acceptable use policy, a court would likely consider the edit to be a fair use of your comment.
But the forum moderator edited some of my comments, deleted others and is being a jerk! Please tell me all the legal claims I might have against them so I can sue them into the ground.
Being a jerk is not a reason to sue someone. Nor is there a claim against blog hosts for exercising their free speech rights to control their forums. Even if there were any valid claims, please remember that lawsuits are expensive, not very fun and should only be thought of as a last resort. If you don’t like what someone is doing, you can start your own blog and express your opinions there.
By James Garland of Tulelake News
PO Box 772
Tulelake, CA 96134-0772
Home Phone (530) 667-4744
Cell # (530) 708-7852
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