A new reality for this blogger

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 by Dave Winer.

I'm not aware of any tech blogger who has received a serious threat of a defamation suit, but I'm sure there have been some. I've done more homework on this, and find that the law seems to assume that libel appears in a newspaper or magazine, not in a weblog. The method of retraction they call for seems to reflect a print reality, not an electronic one. 

When I chart a course for myself, I feel to some extent that I'm making decisions for other bloggers. If I win, that may help bloggers -- if I lose, it may hurt them. I'm pretty sure most people aren't thinking about who might sue them for their blog posts, I wasn't -- and I think that's the right thing. I think our two rules for integrity are pretty good: 

1. Never knowingly say something that's false. 

2. Disclose all relevant conflicts of interest. 

Lawyers however, have a different set of rules, which are more restrictive. So far the blogosphere has operated under the more relaxed rules. For example, there are many things people have said about me that would clearly be actionable under the legal rules. But I don't sue people for what they say about me, just as I don't file patents that prevent other technologists from using my ideas. Just because you have the power doesn't mean you have to use it.  

If a business provides bad service, or treats its customers unfairly, that's something other customers should know. That's one of the fundamental principles of the Internet, in my humble opinion. It's why the travel industry, the real estate industry -- every service industry is undergoing massive upheaval. Yet, you just don't see too many people talking online about bad service from lawyers. It seems to me people are pretty scared of what lawyers can do to them, and I don't think this is a good situation. 

And while my words have become more measured, I've decided to continue writing about this, while I can, because that's what I do.  

Yesterday's comments, and today's.