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Legal
IF YOU ARE
CONSIDERING A LAW SUIT, YOU REALLY SHOULD READ THIS PAGE!
Our users are
anonymous. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that
anonymity of speech is protected under the First Amendment to the
Constitution (see McIntyre v. Ohio, 514 U.S. at 337; Talley v. State
of California, 362 U.S. 60). United States courts also recognize
the right to speak anonymously ? AND have held that the right extends
to speech on the Internet. When courts have ordered disclosure of
the name of an anonymous user, a litigant must show that its need
for identifying information outweighs the user's constitutional
right. Where Friends Hangout Rate My School or Teacher recognizes
this right to anonymity.
According to
the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Anyone questioning
the legality of anonymous postings on an internet site should familiarize
himself or herself with 47 USC Section 230, the federal law that
permits many entities to "host" other people's content
without being liable for defamation/libel etc. "By its plain
language, ? 230 creates a federal immunity to any cause of action
that would make service providers liable for information originating
with a third-party user of the service." Zeran v. AOL, 129
F.3d 327, 330 (4th Cir. 1997). Under 230(c)(2)(A), ``
Does this change
when Where Friends Hangout Rate My School or Teacher deletes inappropriate
comments?
The answer is NO according to the following:
(2) Civil liability.--No
provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be held
liable on account of-- ``(A) any action voluntarily taken in good
faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the
provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy,
excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether
or not such material is constitutionally protected.
The following is a list of websites containing legal information,
as well as quotes and legal precedents. Please feel free to click
on the links.
The
Anti SLAPP Resource Center
Student
Press Law Center
ACLU:
Student Cyber Liberties
ACLU
Northern California
Electronic
Frontier Foundation: Anti-SLAPP Cases
News.com:
Relevant e-Bay case
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