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Thursday, December 16, 2010
Hyperlink Liability
The lawyers babble:
The court reserved judgment after a three-hour hearing, in which several lawyers warned that hyperlinks make the Internet tick, and exposing writers to lawsuits for linking to defamatory postings would cast a wide chill.
Several judges seemed receptive to the argument, and Justice Louise Charron who speculated that Internet users would be afraid to link to other material if the court made them legally responsible for their actions.
I write here, of course, from grave personal interest. Blogging is linking. This seems to be legal overstretch at its worst. Linking to an article or website does not imply the linker thinks something to be true. Do you think I link to the Red Star because of their witty editorials and balanced reporting? Few are going to take the risk of being sued, just to comment on a controversial story. Chill indeed.
Posted by Richard Anderson on December 16, 2010 | Permalink
Comments
The Internet is the latest frontier and challenge for the statists, be they fascists, communists, or any combo thereof. They can't stand the perfect example of a laissez-faire free market. The fascists in Washington (FCC) are working on a net neutrality bomb as we link.
Posted by: John Chittick | 2010-12-16 7:43:21 PM
The fascists in Washington (FCC) are working on a net neutrality bomb as we link.
Posted by: John Chittick | 2010-12-16 7:43:21 PM
Bell and Rogers throttling customers bandwidth because they don't like the content or source they are downloading. Telus blocking websites that are critical of the company. That's censorship. All done with the approval of the CRTC.
Posted by: The Stig | 2010-12-16 9:02:17 PM
I concur with both John and The Stig on this. Well stated!
Posted by: Alain | 2010-12-17 12:22:37 PM
Perhaps thr internet should be policed by those people who teach in secondary schools and universities.
Posted by: Agha Ali Arkhan | 2010-12-19 11:59:54 AM
Linking (or Hyperlinking as it used to be called) is what makes it a web. Without linking, there is no web.
Posted by: wreaver | 2010-12-23 5:01:55 PM
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