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Incendiary Speech And Social Media, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Incendiary Speech And Social Media, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
UF Law Faculty Publications
Incidents illustrating the incendiary capacity of social media have rekindled concerns about the "mismatch" between existing doctrinal categories and new types of dangerous speech. This Essay examines two such incidents, one in which an offensive tweet and YouTube video led a hostile audience to riot and murder, and the other in which a blogger urged his nameless, faceless audience to murder federal judges. One incident resulted in liability for the speaker, even though no violence occurred; the other did not lead to liability for the speaker even though at least thirty people died as a result of his words. An …
Anonymity In Cyberspace: What Can We Learn From John Doe?, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Anonymity In Cyberspace: What Can We Learn From John Doe?, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
UF Law Faculty Publications
This Article examines the evolution of the law governing libel suits against anonymous "John Doe" defendants based on Internet speech. Between 1999 and 2009, courts crafted new First Amendment doctrines to protect Internet speakers from having their anonymity automatically stripped away upon the filing of a libel action. Courts also adapted existing First Amendment protections for hyperbole, satire, and other nonfactual speech to protect the distinctive discourse of Internet message boards. Despite these positive developments, the current state of the law is unsatisfactory. Because the scope of protection for anonymous Internet speech varies greatly by jurisdiction, resourceful plaintiffs can make …
Introducing A Takedown For Trade Secrets On The Internet, Elizabeth A. Rowe
Introducing A Takedown For Trade Secrets On The Internet, Elizabeth A. Rowe
UF Law Faculty Publications
This Article explores, for the first time, an existing void in trade-secret law. When a trade-secret owner discovers that its trade secrets have been posted on the Internet, there is currently no legislative mechanism by which the owner can request that the information be taken down. The only remedy to effectuate removal of the material is to obtain a court order, usually either a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction. When a trade secret appears on the Internet, the owner often loses the ability to continue to claim it as a trade secret and to prevent others from using …
Silencing John Doe: Defamation & Discourse In Cyberspace, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Silencing John Doe: Defamation & Discourse In Cyberspace, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
UF Law Faculty Publications
John Doe has become a popular defamation defendant as corporations and their officers bring defamation suits for statements made about them in Internet discussion fora. These new suits are not even arguably about recovering money damages but instead are brought for symbolic reasons-some worthy, some not so worthy. If the only consequence of these suits were that Internet users were held accountable for their speech, the suits would be an unalloyed good. However, these suits threaten to suppress legitimate criticism along with intentional and reckless falsehoods, and existing First Amendment law doctrines are not responsive to the threat these suits …