LIBEL ON THE WEB

By Chris Daly

For anyone who blogs in Massachusetts, there is a very interesting legal case going on that involves a charge of libel against a blogger on Cape Cod. The case (Dugas v. Robbins), filed in Barnstable County Superior Court, is one of a growing number that pose the question: If bloggers act as journalists (by gathering and disseminating information), then aren't they subject to the same legal duties as all journalists? 

Thanks to the estimable Citizen Media Law Project hosted at Harvard's Berkman Center, many of the key documents in the case are available on-line.

As described in a story in today's Boston Globe, (a story, incidentally, that should have a lot more links than it does), the case is going forward, and a hearing is set for September 16. At issue are disagreements over the wisdom of dredging the harbor. Blogger Robbins wrote a post that criticized some of the abutters, who include the plaintiff, Dugas. 

The legal question for bloggers is this: If you disseminate factual assertions about an identifiable individual and those factual assertions are false and damaging to the person's reputation in a measurable way, you may well have committed libel. In that case, you are liable for the damages, and you could be ordered to pay the victim -- just as if you were a giant media conglomerate. To some plaintiffs, it won't matter if you are poor; they will come after you for whatever they can get, even for the proverbial peppercorn if that's all you have.

One more point: If you blog under a pseudonym, you cannot count on that guise. If the case has merit, a judge will probably order the discovery of your true identity. 

An excellent introduction to all these issues is available at the Citizen Media site.