Blogger jailed
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something to say about public figures, employers or their friends were not often subject to litigation, let alone criminal charges.

“The reach of their statements was relatively modest,” she says, “but that’s just not true anymore.”

The Media Law Resource Center monitors hundreds of cases across the country in which bloggers have been sued for state and federal libel, invasion of privacy and related claims, or have been subject to criminal investigations and prosecutions. While bloggers have the right to freedom of speech — the right to speak without censorship or limitation — Baron says that doesn’t mean the Internet is a “law-free zone.” There will be serious repercussions, she says, if bloggers don’t recognize that they’re subject to the same state and federal laws as any other publisher or speaker.

“Increasingly we’re going to see people stop speech, which used to be virtually unheard of in this country,” Baron says. “We’re seeing it more on our Web site, that people are using lawsuits and criminal [charges].”

As states like Illinois pass cyberbullying laws and as Congress considers enacting a similar federal statute, more legislators are contending that online speech can inflict harm on Internet users. As a result, Baron predicts that the number of cases relating stalking and harassment charges to online statements will also increase.

“Individuals do in fact feel threatened or undermined by material posted online,” she says, “and they are going to look for legal vehicles to stop publication of that which they feel is threatening.”

The Media Law Resource Center has already compiled a list of 15 cases nationwide that allege harassment. Some involve requests for restraining orders, as shown in two recent California cases. In San Francisco County, a female online sex columnist filed a request for a restraining order against two individuals after they allegedly sent her threatening e- mails and posted disapproving statements about her on several Web sites. The restraining order was denied. In Shasta County, a reporter for a Redding newspaper requested a restraining order against a former friend, who allegedly ridiculed her on a blog. Her request was also denied.

The organization’s list includes several civil complaints that involve harassment. In a 2007 case in Pennsylvania, the Justice Department sought a permanent injunction against an anti-abortion activist who allegedly threatened in his newsletters and blog to harm clinic patients and doctors. The district court granted the injunction and forced the removal of the statements.

The Media Law Resource Center also highlights five criminal cases that allege harassment, including a case in Ohio where a female high school student posted a picture of a female classmate on MySpace with the caption, “molested a little boy.” The student was charged with violating the state’s criminal telephone harassment statute for allegedly intending to harass her classmate via the Internet. The student was convicted, but the appellate court reversed the decision based on a lack of evidence.

Humphrey read Sisk’s March 7 column in the SJ-R and, after chatting with his fellow bloggers on American Everyman, decided to send a response to the daily newspaper. At 8:34 p.m., he posted:

“George Sisk has never heard of me. He doesn’t know I exist and live in the same city he does. That’s about to change. [The moderator] warns me this will bring me great trouble. I’m no hero people. But battles are fought by individuals who would rather be someplace else. Here, in my own backyard is a battle that has to be waged, a battle to the truth against the great lies.”

According to the state’s complaint, Humphrey was charged with one count of disorderly conduct for transmitting this Internet post “in such an unreasonable man-