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Full-Text Articles in Law

Restraining False Light: Constitutional And Common Law Limits On A "Troublesome Tort", James B. Lake Jun 2009

Restraining False Light: Constitutional And Common Law Limits On A "Troublesome Tort", James B. Lake

Federal Communications Law Journal

The defamation tort is the common law's established remedy for false speech that causes reputational and emotional injury. That tort is subject to intricate constitutional, legislative, and common law rules that have evolved over decades. The false light invasion of privacy tort also provides a potential cause of action in response to injurious falsehood. False light, however, has been subject to much less judicial and legislative scrutiny than defamation. As a result, courts often are uncertain about the proper limits on false light and, in some cases, have countenanced false light claims that would have failed if filed as defamation …


Limiting Tort Liability For Online Third-Party Content Under Section 230 Of The Communications Act, Jonathan A. Friedman, Francis M. Buono May 2000

Limiting Tort Liability For Online Third-Party Content Under Section 230 Of The Communications Act, Jonathan A. Friedman, Francis M. Buono

Federal Communications Law Journal

Section 230 of the Communications Act provides online service providers (OSPs) with immunity from liability for harms arising from third-party content that is made available through an OSP's services. Some courts have recently held that section 230 immunity covers not only defamation but any tort claim that would make an OSP liable for information originating from the OSP's users or commercial partners. This Article argues that section 230 has been properly interpreted by the courts and that, contrary to the claims of critics, those decisions have not created a disincentive for OSPs aggressively to monitor their sites for defamatory or …