Free Speech: To a Point

Can we avoid this on the Internet?

Choose your words carefully because you'll never know who is reading. 

Recently the Los Angeles Times posted an article that touched on Internet free speech. The opening sentences sum up the issue well enough.

"The Internet has allowed tens of millions of Americans to be published writers. But it also has led to a surge in lawsuits from those who say they were hurt, defamed or threatened by what they read, according to groups that track media lawsuits."

This is a brand new issue that will continue to evolve as more incidents arise and rulings are passed. At the moment the cases I've seen have been at the local/state level, and there has been no sweeping reform or ruling that would effect the entire nation. Those filing complaints are generally defending themselves and their reputation.

In western Pennsylvania, for example, a politician was accused of collecting tax dollars for personal use. He was also called a "jerk," and the the cars sold at his dealership were deemed "junk." The poster was anonymous. The targeted individual sued for defamation, and the judge ruled that the community site must identify the Internet address of the posters.

My initial gut reaction was for unlimited freedom of speech. I don't want anyone limiting my right to type my mind on-line. After further thought, I found sympathy for the targeted individual mentioned above. If that was my business or political career, then I sure wouldn't want my reputation being tarnished by a few disgruntle individuals. Especially if I hadn't done anything wrong. I, however, don't know the nitty gritty details of this case so I can't accurately make an objective ruling one way or the other.

"Although bloggers may have a free-speech right to say what they want online, courts have found that they are not protected from being sued for their comments, even if they are posted anonymously. "

Two of the biggest problems with on-line speech are accountability and accuracy. Individuals will be more bold with their statements if they think there will be no repercussion. I see/hear this everyday while playing video games on Xbox Live and reading various forums. Individuals will use hateful speech that would be absent from their average face to face encounters.

People are also extremely lazy (or maybe busy), and rarely fact check their sources. With no accountability they are, in my opinion, more likely to state something that may be misleading or not entirely true. There is also a lack of fact checkers on the Internet. This, however, will be a persistent problem due to the shear amount of information on-line.

As seen in N. Korea.

Oh what to do? Censor everything? Hell no! Allow people to tarnish the reputation of others? Well only if it deserves to get tarnished. Should people be held accountable for what they say? That all depends on what was said, and under what context.

I actually like the current methodology for dealing with this issue. If a website or poster has wrongfully hurt, defame, or threaten someone, then the targeted person has every right to defend themselves. Let the courts take these issues on a case by case basis. Hopefully they can differentiate between legitimate complaints and unwarranted hate.

Unfortunately lawsuits cost money. This means wrongfully accused individuals may not have the financial resources to defend themselves. (This goes for "victims" as well as "posters.") This problem, however, seems less damaging to the whole of society. I don't want to see sweeping federal censorship of the Internet, and the slippery slope extreme argument leads down that path.

This issue is not going away, and it will be interesting to see Internet laws evolve. I hope the Internet remains free, but I would also like to see greater accountability from posters/bloggers. I don't think everything needs a "fact check." Someones rant on how to survive a zombie apocalypse is not as important as an article about real life current events. Hopefully we will find away to keep the freedom while increasing the accuracy, but that is easier said then done.