[Imc] hiding a story

[Ellen Knutson]

Like Sacsha I spent some time today looking for some sort of verification 
of this story. The only thing I could verify is that the person named as 
the killer does exist (in fact this was very easy, making the fear of libel 
more strong in my opinoin). I could find nothing on the person named as the 
victim. I could find no mention of the story in any major NC newspaper and 
indeed not in any major newpaper in the northeast or southeast.

It is my understanding that the disclaimer that we have was put into place 
to protect our 501(c)(3) status, and not to protect us from libel. I've 
also just spent some time at the Findlaw site trying to determine if we 
have any liability for libel. And as I'm not a lawyer I can't say 
conclusively yes or no. Here is what I can say: in 1996 congress passed the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996. One provision in this act (47 U.S.C. § 
230(c)) states that service providers cannot be held liable for libel even 
if they edit some of the posting. I am not sure if we would be considered a 
service provider (interactive computer service is the term in the act). 
Here is the definition: "interactive computer service" is "any information 
service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables 
computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including 
specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and 
such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational 
institutions." 47 U.S.C. § 230(e)(2). As a non lawyer I can see an argument 
that would put us as interactive computer service. However, the case law 
(which is where the true test of how legislation is interpreted) has only 
been brought against big time Internet service providers--namely AOL.

If we are protected by this provision, it does not matter legally that we 
chose to hide this post. This addresses Sandra's concern we are more open 
to libel if we are acting like editors. (Which by the way was certainly the 
case before this act. see Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Servs. Co., 
1995 WL 323710 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. May 24, 1995).) And if we are not protected 
by this provision and I'm not convinced that we are, we are open for libel. 
Therefore, I would argue that the post remain hidden.

Ellen