[Foundation-l] Fwd: [WL-News] Wikimedia Foundation in danger of losing immunity under the Communications Decency Act

[Mike Godwin]

Anthony writes:

>> Nah, I've got the opposite defense.  I'm broke, plus I live in  
>> Florida
>> (home of some of the world's most debtor-friendly asset protection
>> statutes), so there's no sense in anyone suing me in the first place.

This is a great point, and worth keeping in mind with regard to the  
following discussion.

>  One other point, and then I'm done for the day.  What is the
> foundation going to do when the people who would otherwise sue the
> foundation realize they can't do so and turn to the community members
> who implement these "suggestions" and sue them instead?  Will it help
> them defend themselves, or will it leave them to fend for themselves?

I'm having difficulty imagining the fact pattern that gives rise to  
the scenario you describe here.  If the "suggestion" is to remove  
defamatory material, and an editor who is not the author of that  
material does so, what's the legal theory a plaintiff would use to  
reach the editor? There are really only two avenues for possible  
liability.  First, say the editor is the "author" of the material in  
question. That theory falls apart the minute you investigate it.  
Second, say the editor breached a duty to ... do what exactly? Remove  
libelous material? Oh, wait, that's what he did do, so you can't say  
he breached a duty by doing a duty.  And so far as I can tell there's  
no legal duty on the part of any editor to remove anything.

What's more, the majority of editors are, if not always as judgment- 
proof as you, at least not worthy of the investment it takes to mount  
a libel lawsuit against.  Defamation lawsuits are expensive, and  
primarily a game for the rich, aimed at targets that have a lot of  
money.

So far as I know, there have been no "suggestions" by the Foundation  
to an editor that resulted in the *addition* of defamatory material to  
an article, but perhaps I'm missing your point.


--Mike