Legal Guide for Bloggers
Okay, you know we love the EFF. They, like, totally stand up for our rights online! And win! From porn to rants to rants about porn, everybody who publishes on the web can thank the EFF for helping to keep you free to let your freak flag fly. So it was with great glee when we got an advance copy of their Legal Guide for Bloggers. Especially since it gave SFist's own crack team of legal analysts, and those who play them on TV, a chance to take an in-depth look at it, something you won't find on some blogs. So we invite you to:
One thing that we though it could have benefited from was a primer on how a lawsuit works. For instance, how might a blogger be notified of a subpoena or a cease and desist order? Does it matter if it's email or snail mail? If one gets a subpoena, what's it going to cost to get a lawyer, and who, besides the EFF, might be willing to work for free (we had to translate that from the latin)? What kind of investment does a plaintiff have to make in order to bring a case? And what could we expect from different scenarios, especially the worst case?
Granted, they make it clear that "this is not legal advice," and they do a great job of providing examples of cases and linking to materials relevant to the topic at hand. As a reference, it's invaluable, and it's definitely a few ounces of prevention. California state law is also well-covered, and generally seems to grant more protections to free speech for citizens in general and online publishers in particular than federal or many state laws do. As Steve Colbert joked on the Daily Show, it seems you can get away with anything in this state!
Coverage of the first amendment in general terms, it's history and how it's understood today, would be good background for the layblogger. Citizens of the United States have never truly had 'free speech,' just some of the freer speech around (and, of course, there's always the debate as to whether we really want it). While those who generally read EFF despatches are, we're sure, familiar with the basics, many people starting blogs for the first time may never have given any of these issues a second thought. There's a crapload of bloggers who have never heard of the EFF, or even basic first amendment law (we joke that they're called "MySpace users").
We particularly enjoyed the cheeky tone, if a legal guide can ever be accused of having a cheeky tone. From the FAQ on Defamation:
Context is critical. For example, it was not libel for ESPN to caption a photo "Evel Knievel proves you're never too old to be a pimp," since it was (in context) "not intended as a criminal accusation, nor was it reasonably susceptible to such a literal interpretation. Ironically, it was most likely intended as a compliment." However, it would be defamatory to falsely assert "our dad's a pimp" or to accuse your dad of "dabbling in the pimptorial arts." (Real case, but the defendant sons succeeded in a truth defense).
[Ed. Note: SFist would like to state here, for the record, that we will never bring suit against anyone who accuses us of "dabbling in the pimptorial arts." We will, however, purchase them a frosty beverage.]
All in all, a definite must-read, even if when you're done you don't entirely understand it. You'll definitely come away with a sense of what's a good idea to publish and what isn't, and why you should care. Plus you'll be able to impress your friends by saying things like, "So you got a DMCA takedown notice, eh? Did you counter-notify?" or, "You know, as a blogger working on a story in the public interest, you should qualify for an FOIA fee waiver." Okay, maybe impress isn't the right word...
Additional analysis by SFist Rita.