Study finds Internet trolls unaware of libel According to a new survey, about half of all Internet users would support a voluntary code of conduct for bloggers and commentators. Code of conduct? Sounds like lawyer talk. And indeed, the research was conducted by legal firm DLA Piper, who found that 32 percent of bloggers back the idea, with 34 percent opposed. They didn’t contact AdFreak — a snub that alone makes the survey highly suspect. Anyway, DLA determined that 75 percent of Web users who posted comments are unfamiliar with libel laws. Which means you can probably get away with referring to three-fourths of the world’s commenters as Satanic child molesters. Feel free to comment and share your views on an Internet code of conduct — while you still can. It’s not like you're legally accountable for what you post. Or are you? (Actually, you are, but don’t tell the Satanists.) —Posted by David Gianatasio

May 15, 2008 in Gianatasio | Permalink

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Actually, the issue has some significance in at least one arena -- consumerism. Many disgruntled consumers who trashed a company online, some with a soandsosucks.com site, were driven into silence by deep pocketed legal teams bringing libel suits. Even though in many of the cases I read about there was no real chance of a win by the company against the consumer, the cost of defense was enough to make the disgruntled back off. I think that's your basic chilling effect. Brrr.

Posted by: captain flummox | May 16, 2008 11:25:32 AM

Hmm.

Hypothetically, I do a "so and so sucks dot com" site, and host the site in any country but the USA, reside myself in any country but the USA, and keep all data/billing/registrar adresses etc in any country but the USA - what country can they sue me in? Wouldn't Suckcorp have to file suit in the country where the data, or at least the site owner, resides? Lets all move to the Netherlands, and take our servers with us.

Posted by: Dabitch | May 20, 2008 8:10:56 AM

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