11.11.05
Protecting Your Virtual Voice
You’re blogging along and all of the sudden - WHAM! You’re hit with a Cease and Desist notice. You’re confused. You didn’t even think anyone was really reading your blog in the first place. So you voiced an emphatic opinion about a politician or ranted about a product that didn’t meet your expectations. Freedom of speech is a basic right after all. Maybe you wrote a synopsis of the latest movie you saw or broadcasted a great podcast you came across. What could’ve been wrong with that? Maybe nothing.
Reality is your blog has given you a virtual voice in a global environment. One that may or may not be wanted. Some individuals and businesses would rather not have you as a spokesperson, and may be misusing intellectual property and other laws in an attempt to stifle the legitimate free expression of online users.
Are you within your legal rights? Positive or negative, you are responsible for the content you post and possibly even for the comments responding bloggers leave. It is up to you to understand the protections that the First Amendment and intellectual property laws give to your online activities. Luckily, there’s help.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s mission is to defend digital rights. A Legal Guide for Bloggers, is a collection of blogger-specific FAQs designed to help you understand your rights and, if necessary, defend your freedom.
If you’ve received a letter asking you to remove a link to a Web site, delete information or stop engaging in an unsolicited activity, than this site is for you: Chilling Effects Clearinghouse. A joint project of the EFF and prominent law schools, Chilling Effects will help you decipher Cease and Desist notices so you can make informed decisions about your online activities.
Blog informed.
Jerry said,
November 11, 2005 at 9:08 pm
I just happened to listen to a podcast from IT Conversations about this last night. It was a panel from the BlogHer 2005 conference titled “Legal Tips: What You Can Get Away With.”
You can listen here: http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail695.html
Gardner said,
November 12, 2005 at 12:13 am
In an age in which some people want to copyright not only sites but [i]links[/i] to the sites, the EFF is performing a crucial function with these materials. Thanks for blogging this.
Teresa Coffman said,
November 14, 2005 at 11:09 am
This is a good posting and one that is an issue. Yes, we have a voice and bloggers want thier voices heard but what are our rights as bloggers?
Andy Rush said,
November 15, 2005 at 10:12 pm
Lisa,
I don’t think there are many more important sites than EFF, headed by a great mind in Cory Doctorow. I like where you’re going with these “tiny matters”
lisa said,
November 15, 2005 at 10:47 pm
Jerry, Thinking alike again. I listened to the panel discussion from the BlogHer 2005 conference “Legal Tips: What You Can Get Away With” as well, and had originally planned to include a clip of the discussion - but staying within legal parameters, the Chilling Effects and EFF references were too long.
Here’s a clip of the discussion topic: Creative Commons [clip]
to encourage others to listen to the full 47 minutes of the panel discussion concerning legal rights and obligations of bloggers.