Internet Law (server, remove, Word, website)

[PassTheChocolate]

Does anyone know of a good resource for libel over the internet internationally?

[swagger]

Best of luck with that...

Passing a law is one thing, enforcing it is another.

[thecoalman]

There is no "International Law" for libel that I'm aware of. I would venture to guess you would need to find out what the laws are in the country where the person lives. Persuing something like this even lovcally is going to be quite expensive, the costs for an overseas lawsuit would probably be astronomical.

[scorpy01]

Also, I seem to remember the issue of jurisdiction in one case being determined according to the location of the server hosting the offending material. Dow Jones v. Gutnick was eventually heard in Australia although Lawyers argued that it should be filed where the servers were located. I think both parties later settled.

You might also find information at the Electronic Frontier Foundation website.

[PassTheChocolate]

It's basically someone from overseas who wrote an article and a book based on info that I know for a fact is libellous and bogus. The book is for sale on Amazon. The article is on his site for distribution in the country where he lives.

Thanks to all of you.

[Radek]

There is a different between libelous and bogus info. Your best bet would be to talk to a lawyer, and take action against Amazon. Other than that, you'd need to look at talking to the company that hosts the servers, if he hosts the servers himself, then talk to his Internet Service Provider. Both would be much much harder than to either a) let it go, or b) talk to Amazon and get them to stop selling the book.

[thecoalman]

Other than criminal activity Amazon or the hosting service have no legal responsibility to police material so I really doubt you're going to get any response from them or could hold them responsible for that matter.

[PassTheChocolate]

Originally Posted by Radek

There is a different between libelous and bogus info. Your best bet would be to talk to a lawyer, and take action against Amazon. Other than that, you'd need to look at talking to the company that hosts the servers, if he hosts the servers himself, then talk to his Internet Service Provider. Both would be much much harder than to either a) let it go, or b) talk to Amazon and get them to stop selling the book.

I appreciate your input, but I know the difference between libellous and bogus; his writing is both.

Amazon didn't commit the offense, he did. Getting Amazon to stop selling the book wouldn't stop the book from selling elsewhere.

The server issue makes sense, but I guess an attorney would know for sure.

Thanks again to everyone.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by PassTheChocolate

The server issue makes sense, but I guess an attorney would know for sure.

I can pretty much tell you they are not going to care, it's not their responsibility and they only have your word to go on. This is a civil matter, you'll have to get a court judgment to have the Author remove the book from those services.

[Naptowner]

Amazon is not the one making the defamatory statement, nor is it publishing the book (from what I can tell), it's merely selling the book, and is one of a number of outlets doing so. Although you might be able to get an injunction preventing Amazon from selling the book, as you have recognized Amazon is not the best defendant in this lawsuit.

Since you know the difference between libelous and bogus you know that there's nothing you can do about bogus statements. Only defamatory statements - representations of fact made with knowledge that they are false or with recklessness as to whether or not they are false that tend to injure the reputation of another person, that are published to third parties, resulting in damage to the plaintiff - give rise to a lawsuit, and that's based on American common law. One advantage in suing for libel in some countries - England comes to mind - is that there is no first amendment protection. If you're suing the media for libel here in the US you have to prove they acted with some degree of malice, otherwise you're out of luck. But I'm sure you know all that, and understand that libel is a tough case to make, and that oftentimes people who sue for libel make matters worse by drawing extra attention to the defamatory statement.

Anyway, you should be able to do a "WHOIS" search on the website url to find out who owns it and where it is located.