A few days ago I heard Gill Phillips, Head of Litigation at the Times, speak about her experiences steering the paper through the shark-infested waters of libel law. I found two things particularly frightening: firstly, the contempt with which journalists seem to be held by the legal system (I'm talking literally as well as figuratively); and secondly, the implications for online publishing.
Basically, if you make a newspaper available in any state, you are subject to the laws of that state. So in a single online article I could unwittingly libel Liberia, slander Slovakia and defame the DPRK. I am also be legally responsible for any comments my users make, so if some 16-year-old scamp posts "kim-jong il izza poo poo hed !!!!!1 ;-)" at the bottom of my article I could find myself kidnapped in the dead of night, flown to Pyongyang with a bag over my head and forced to explain my actions.
Sounds far-fetched? Maybe not. The Times is currently being sued in France and Japan; Tom Cruise threatened to sue South Park in England in order to get around America's pesky First Amendment laws; what's to stop Iran, Zimbabwe and Myanmar getting in on the action? If progressive states such as Malaysia have no problem jailing journalists, why shouldn't more conservative countries protect their cyberspace from the poisonous Judeo-Christian media?
In short: we are all soooo sued. But every cloud has a silver lining; if I am declared bankrupt I won't have to pay back my student loan.
Basically, if you make a newspaper available in any state, you are subject to the laws of that state. So in a single online article I could unwittingly libel Liberia, slander Slovakia and defame the DPRK. I am also be legally responsible for any comments my users make, so if some 16-year-old scamp posts "kim-jong il izza poo poo hed !!!!!1 ;-)" at the bottom of my article I could find myself kidnapped in the dead of night, flown to Pyongyang with a bag over my head and forced to explain my actions.
Sounds far-fetched? Maybe not. The Times is currently being sued in France and Japan; Tom Cruise threatened to sue South Park in England in order to get around America's pesky First Amendment laws; what's to stop Iran, Zimbabwe and Myanmar getting in on the action? If progressive states such as Malaysia have no problem jailing journalists, why shouldn't more conservative countries protect their cyberspace from the poisonous Judeo-Christian media?
In short: we are all soooo sued. But every cloud has a silver lining; if I am declared bankrupt I won't have to pay back my student loan.
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