IP: AOL Subscribers Can Be Sued in Virginia, Judge Rules

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Reply-To: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com> 
From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com> 
Subject: AOL Subscribers Can Be Sued in Virginia, Judge Rules 
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:04:40 -0400

Suppose you are engaged in a vicious online debate with an opponent in 
Virginia. Imagine, too, that you have just written an insulting 
message about your foe while hunched over your home computer in 
another state.
With the help of your America Online account, you post the message to 
a typical no-holds-barred Usenet newsgroup, a kind of electronic 
bulletin board that can be read by Internet users all over the 
world. Soon after, your opponent reads the message and decides that 
you have crossed the line and libeled him.
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/cyber/cyberlaw/11law.html
Ruling Has AOL Members On Alert June 11, 1999
Patricia Fusco, InternetNews.com Assistant Editor ISP News Archives
Virginia's long-arm of the law has reached out and grabbed the 
attention of America Online Inc.'s members nationwide.
Late last month, a federal district court in Alexandria, Va., ruled 
that AOL members can be hauled into a Virginia court to answer for 
lawsuits, no matter where they live.
http://www.internetnews.com/isp-news/article/0,1087,8_136521,00.html