Blogosphere Boom Creates Libel Lawsuit Growth

Blogging has increased dramatically over the last few years, marked by a proportionate increase in lawsuits. The alleged dangers of internet anonymity prompted Forbes writer, Victoria Murphy Barret, to write in her October article “Anonymity & the Internet” that “Today the Net still protects the abused and the disenfranchised...But it also shields creeps, criminals and pedophiles. It emboldens the mean-spirited and offers them a huge audience for spewing hatred and libel.” Libel remains the largest reason for all reported blog-related lawsuits, followed by privacy, copyright disputes, and harassment, noted Robert Cox, President of the Media Bloggers Association at a Society of Professional Journalists presentation. Read all of this Accuracy In Media column at http://www.aim.org/aim_column/5918_0_3_0_C/.

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