Can my ISP or the host of a message board be held liable for defamatory statements I make on the grounds that they are a “publisher” or “republisher” of the information?
No. Federal law provides: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” This has been interpreted to protect hosts of discussions between other people against defamation and libel claims as a “republisher” of the information. Note that this protection does not extend to claims under intellectual property laws.
Related Questions
- Must an ISP or message board host delete postings that someone tells him/her are defamatory? Can the ISP or message board delete postings in response to a request from a third party?
- Can my ISP or the host of a message board be held liable for defamatory statements I make on the grounds that they are a "publisher" or "republisher" of the information?
- Can an ISP or the host of the message board or chat room be held liable for defamatory of libelous statements made by others on the message board?
