Bigger Fish, Deeper Pockets
| Jurisdiction | United States,Federal |
| Publication year | 2005 |
| Citation | Vol. 2 No. 1 |
Cite as: Emma Scanlan,
(c) 2005 Emma Scanlan
Blogging is a form of online communication that encourages instantaneous postings and viewer comments. More and more businesses are creating blogs to talk about and promote their products and services. This article will focus on a business' potential exposure to defamation liability stemming from content posted on a company-sponsored blog. The history of the Communications Decency Act in the courts indicates that companies will likely be immune from liability for defamation when the suit treats the company blog as the publisher of third party defamatory content. However, businesses that host blogs should be aware that this immunity may not extend to third party content not specifically provided to the blog for publishing, distributing or posting.
[1] Weblogs or "blogs" are online journals published on a microsite(fn2) or within a larger website on the Internet.(fn3) Similar to a traditional website, a blog is capable of displaying text and images, can be viewed in a standard browser and is recognized by search engines. However, blogs possess several characteristics that differentiate them from websites. First, blogs can be launched in under five minutes without any technical knowledge or expertise. Second, blogs tend to be informal in nature, and contain links to other blogs and websites. Third, blogs are updated frequently with each entry or "post" bearing a time and date stamp and appearing in reverse chronological order according to the time of posting. Fourth, many blogs give viewers the ability to post a comment, viewable on the blog site, in response to any entry made by the blog host.
[2] Due to its ease of use and unique structure, blogging is one of the fastest growing forms of Internet communication and information delivery. Since the introduction of blogs in the late 1990s, over 2.7 million individuals, groups and companies have entered the "blogsphere."(fn4) Business blogs are one of the fastest growing segments of the blogging population.(fn5)
[3] Businesses of all sizes, from Microsoft to the latest start-up, are recognizing the unique benefits of blogging. A business blog is distinguishable from an individual blog because it is endorsed by a company and its content is generally more targeted than the meandering, personal entries posted by an individual using blogging technology to host an online diary. A business blog is defined as "a blog published by or with the support of an organization to reach that organization's goals."(fn6) Business blogs focused on an external audience can help strengthen relationships with target groups and position the business or specific employee blogger as an expert in the industry.(fn7) Within a company, blogs are commonly used as a knowledge management tool and a vehicle for informal collaboration.(fn8) In short, businesses of all sizes can benefit from the format's ease of use, informality and interactive capabilities.
[4] With the instantaneous posting of thoughts, articles, and weblinks comes the potential for defamation...
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