First Amendment
Category RSS FeedRepost of the Chronicle Wikileaks Op-Ed
Here is the editorial that originally ran in the December 9, 2010 Houston Chronicle:
U.S. should be cautious in going after WikiLeaks
By TRAVIS CRABTREE
Dec. 8, 2010, 8:29PM
Since WikiLeaks <http://topics.chron.com/topics/Wikileaks> dumped some 250,000 U.S. <http://topics.chron.com/topics/United_States> diplomatic cables into the public domain, many have called for the controversial Web site to be shut down and/or … Continue Reading
Wikileaks disclosure of diplomatic cables: Is that legal?
Plenty has been written on the contents of the recent disclosure of the diplomatic cables. To no one’s surprise, Wikileaks has been sued before and I wrote about one of their last legal battles here. That one involved a private bank. Now, what can the U.S. Government do (legally) to the site?
The First Amendment, Vietnam War … Continue Reading
The Amazon Debacle: Why it’s Always a Good Idea to Think Before Opening Your Mouth
Today’s Guest Post is Authored by Looper Reed & McGraw’s Joel Thompson, the head our Crisis Communications practice.
The Success of Amazon.
Most of us are familiar with the web site, Amazon.com. Amazon is a behemoth company that first hit the web in 1995, specializing in book sales. Since then they have broadened and diversified their inventory … Continue Reading
Does the NLRB Facebook action mean I need to change my social media policies?
When discussing social media and the law issues, I often say that you can fire an at will employee for almost anything, including badmouthing the company on social media. Then, the National Labor Relations Board took an action for an employee who was fired, at least in part, for posting negative comments on Facebook.
You can … Continue Reading
Banned: Facebook, the First Amendment and Forum
In February of 2010, Karen Young opened a Facebook account. By June, she had over 4,300 “friends.” Young responded to a comment that basically asked God to kill Obama decrying the comment. Young says she was harassed in response including the defiling of her profile picture. Soon thereafter, she was banned from Facebook for violating the … Continue Reading
Yes, Virginia, Some of the Internet Horror Stories Are True
Yes, it really happens – a Texas criminal case highlights what can happen to that private photograph you took and how the law reacts to posting it on the Internet. You often hear horror stories about someone using the Internet to exact revenge on an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. I am often asked how to unmask … Continue Reading
Breaking Down the Legalities of the Fake BP Twitter Feed
Not that BP is going to engender much sympathy or that there is a lot of humor about what is happening in the Gulf, there is one interesting aspect to the tragedy. Someone created a fake BP public relations account on Twitter under the name BPGlobalPR. The anonymous creator has gotten quite a bit of press … Continue Reading
Going to Use Social Media to Exact Revenge – Do It The Right Way
A U.K. man vented his frustration over a weather-cancelled flight. Like many others, he took to social media, to complain and wrote on Twitter:
Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your s**t together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!
This man became the first in the U.K. convicted for sending … Continue Reading
Texas Court dismissed online defamation claim but may open hole in Section 230 defense
The court of appeals in Beaumont affirmed a dismissal of the all-too-typical online defamation case last week . Plaintiffs Walter Milo and Anthony Shelton sued the Watchdog website because of something put on the site by anonymous posters in the “Guest Book” portion of the site. Plaintiffs also sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The … Continue Reading
Commenting anonymously can go wrong – even for the judge
The Cleveland Plain Dealer agreed to reveal the identity of one of its frequent anonymous commenters. The anonymous commenter was a judge who posted under the name “lawmiss” and commented on some of the cases in her court. Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold reacted by suing the newspaper for $50 million.
I will leave the ethics of … Continue Reading
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