re: ALERT: KEEP FREE AND OPEN SPEECH ON NET [ as you can see I have an opinion on this .. djf]

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 10:39:45 -0700
From: Bruce R Koball <bkoball () well sf ca us>
> Since I would argue that a libelous comment on the Net can be even more
> damaging that a similar comment in a newspaper, I would support extension
> of libel laws to cyberspace--but only for "publishers".  But how to
> define that term?"
Dave, isn't the key criteria here the equity of access to the medium.
Isn't it the case that if you are the target of scurrilous attack in a
newspaper you are more likely to win a libel action than if that attack
occurs in an open public forum, on the grounds that you have less
access to the medium in the former case than the latter.


By that argument, an edited "newsletter" like IP might reasonably be
construed a "publisher."