Pseudo-law on the list and libel (fwd)

[Michael Froomkin - U.Miami School of Law]

I really get tired of this.

On Sat, 9 Nov 1996, Jim Choate wrote:
> 
> Exactly. Because the list takes in submissions from ALL parties and then
> resubmits them to ALL SUBSCRIBED parties it qualifies as a publisher. 

Oversimplified (this is why people *pay* lawyers...).  First, the
defintion of "publisher" for libel purposes (but NOT for 1st Am. purposes)
varies from state to state.  Variations increase when one considers non-US
jurisdictions.

Second, to take NY state as an example, a mailing list is almost certainly
NOT a "publisher" but a mere "distributor" and thus held to a MUCH lower
standard of care regarding responsibility for libel.  The "distributor",
like the book store owner, is not presumed to be on notice of the content
of the material, and must take action only if she is made specifically
aware of the libelous nature of the specific content.

[...]

> > > Pseudo-law on this list is really getting out of hand.

Nothing new, alas.

A. Michael Froomkin        | +1 (305) 284-4285; +1 (305) 284-6506 (fax)
Associate Professor of Law |
U. Miami School of Law     | froomkin at law.miami.edu
P.O. Box 248087            | http://www.law.miami.edu/~froomkin
Coral Gables, FL 33124 USA | It's warm here.