You don’t say
: A topic of much discussion at the Yale Law School blog conference a few weeks ago was, of course, libel. One argument says that poor bloggers are judgment proof (that is, you can win, but you can’t collect because they have nothing). Another argument says that because the world of blogs, as a whole, is so quick to correct itself (even if one author gets something wrong, throngs will fact check his ass), that there should be a different and lighter standard for libel. Yet nother argument (hey, it was a law school) says that the mere fear of libel suits has a chilling effect on the free speech of the wired masses.
Here comes another chill wind from the other side of the world: An Australian appeals court has ruled that the Wall Street Journal can be sued in Australia — not the U.S. — for an article that appeared in the U.S. newspaper’s U.S. website.
Shhhh. Don’t anyone tell the Saudis this.
: Of course, Glenn Reynolds has wise words on the topic, in the Australian press.
