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Wanted: Libel law for the digital age

Sep 26, 2007 - Posted by Dean Jobb
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A libel suit filed against Mumsnet, a community website where women offer one another advice, support and friendship, underlines the need for a libel law that reflects the reality of publishing online. In this May 2007 commentary, Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet, argues that treating an electronic bulletin board as if it were a newspaper or book is like using railway signals to control air traffic.

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Submitted by Barry Rueger (not verified) on September 26, 2007 - 7:57pm.
Roberts' complaint seems to boil down to it being a nuisance for her to remove possibly libelous content, with a side complaint that for some reason the laws governing all other media forms shouldn't apply to the one in which she chooses to publish. Frankly it amazes me that ten years after the explosion of Internet use there are still people who believe in the bizarre notion that somehow the rules that govern the rest of the planet don't apply in cyberspace. Roberts has a choice of options that would be more effective than whining about the hassle of managing her enterprise. She could do what every other publisher would do: remove offending content or go to court to defend her choice to publish. Or she could moderate posts before making them public.

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