A Reason to not Blog?
There are many reasons one decides to write a blog, including communication, education and catharsis. However, I’d like to pose the question: Are there any reasons to not blog?
According to Wendy Davis in the American Bar Association journal, fear is a reason to not blog.
Some bloggers have found themselves in hot water after posting previews to shows or product releases. These bloggers fear getting sued by giant corporations with powerful lawyers – but that didn’t stop them from making the original posts.
Cases cited by Davis include Jeff Kotke’s, a blogger who had angered Sony by posting a video of Jeopardy contestant Ken Jennings losing after 74 games. Word had leaked via traditional media prior to Kotke’s post, but the video is what riled the corporation. So what kind of defense does a blogger have?
Luckily for Kotke, the threats from Sony about suing for copyright infringement were only threats. However, it did raise a great issue for the blogging community to cover – the need for a team of lawyers to protect bloggers. As it stands, there are no shield laws that protect bloggers from disclosing sources as there are traditional journalists. Davis notes that the Electronic Frontier Foundation asserts that “California’s shield law confers the same rights on bloggers as on reporters for any traditional publication.” However, this is just a matter of disclosing sources. So according to these rules, Kotke still could have been held liable for publishing copyrighted material. And in any medium, copyright infringement is not fair play, so Kotke’s case becomes a moot point.
However, this question – “Any Reasons not to Blog?” isn’t about ethics and laws – it’s about the possible ramifications of blogging. So according to Davis’s article, yes it is possible to get sued (as anonymous parties did by Apple for releasing product details) as a result of blogging.
There is also the problem of employers finding blogs, and discovering either workplace-related rants, or “inappropriate” conduct by employees. However, as Davis notes, many states have laws that prohibit employers from “Firing employees for activities they undertake on their own time.”
Blogs are personal, and can be anonymous (unless the ISP is subpoened and the author revealed through IP addresses), so there isn’t much chance for getting sued. But it may be best to ask oneself, “Would I want my boss/mother/professor seeing this?” and “Am I infringing on anyone else’s property?” before posting a pirated movie clip or racy pictures in work uniform.
According to Wendy Davis in the American Bar Association journal, fear is a reason to not blog.
Some bloggers have found themselves in hot water after posting previews to shows or product releases. These bloggers fear getting sued by giant corporations with powerful lawyers – but that didn’t stop them from making the original posts.
Cases cited by Davis include Jeff Kotke’s, a blogger who had angered Sony by posting a video of Jeopardy contestant Ken Jennings losing after 74 games. Word had leaked via traditional media prior to Kotke’s post, but the video is what riled the corporation. So what kind of defense does a blogger have?
Luckily for Kotke, the threats from Sony about suing for copyright infringement were only threats. However, it did raise a great issue for the blogging community to cover – the need for a team of lawyers to protect bloggers. As it stands, there are no shield laws that protect bloggers from disclosing sources as there are traditional journalists. Davis notes that the Electronic Frontier Foundation asserts that “California’s shield law confers the same rights on bloggers as on reporters for any traditional publication.” However, this is just a matter of disclosing sources. So according to these rules, Kotke still could have been held liable for publishing copyrighted material. And in any medium, copyright infringement is not fair play, so Kotke’s case becomes a moot point.
However, this question – “Any Reasons not to Blog?” isn’t about ethics and laws – it’s about the possible ramifications of blogging. So according to Davis’s article, yes it is possible to get sued (as anonymous parties did by Apple for releasing product details) as a result of blogging.
There is also the problem of employers finding blogs, and discovering either workplace-related rants, or “inappropriate” conduct by employees. However, as Davis notes, many states have laws that prohibit employers from “Firing employees for activities they undertake on their own time.”
Blogs are personal, and can be anonymous (unless the ISP is subpoened and the author revealed through IP addresses), so there isn’t much chance for getting sued. But it may be best to ask oneself, “Would I want my boss/mother/professor seeing this?” and “Am I infringing on anyone else’s property?” before posting a pirated movie clip or racy pictures in work uniform.
posted by KK at 1:08 PM
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