Defamation on the Internet
copyright 1996
Editor: Donald M. Cameron , Aird & Berlis
Contributors: Donald M. Cameron , Tom S. Onyshko & W. David Castell
In Cubby, Inc. v. CompuServe Inc. (fnd1) the
court held that CompuServe was not liable for defamatory material which had been uploaded
onto CompuServe's bulletin board system. The court reasoned that CompuServe was a
distributor (like a library or bookstore) not a republisher. Consequently, CompuServe
would not be liable for defamation unless it knew or had reason to know of the defamatory
statements.
The more recent decision of Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services
Company , (fnd2) found that Prodigy was a publisher of
statements on a bulletin board because it had held itself out to the public as controlling
the content. While the bulletin board was moderated by an individual who was not an
employee of Prodigy, the court found that the moderator was an agent for the corporation.
Endnotes
fnd1. 776 F. Supp. 135 (S.D.N.Y. 1991).
fnd2. 5 CCH Computer Cases 47,291 (N.Y.S.C. 1995).
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