Paul Levy on Ninth Circuit, CDA, and online publisher liability [fs]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2003 10:08:41 -0500
From: "Paul Levy" <PLEVY () citizen org>
To: <declan () well com>
Subject: Batzel v. Cremers rehearing petition finally denied
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What's important to remember here is that although the three dissenters
charge the majority of going too far, EVERYBODY here accepts the basic
Zeran rule that the the provider of a bulletin board or interactive
email list is immune from libel suit etc under the CDA.

I do think that folks who run "moderated listserv's" are out of the
woods yet, though, expecially those like yourself who pick and choose
their material.  Ron Gould's arguments are very powerful and they may
well pick up sympathetic judges in other circuits.



9TH CIRCUIT DENIES REHEARING IN BATZEL V. SMITH
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied an application
for a re-hearing in the Batzel v. Smith case, which involves
the application of the intermediary statutory immunity
provided by the CDA s. 230.  Several judges dissented from
the opinion, arguing that the interpretation is wrong in
light of Congress's intent and that it will harm persons
defamed on the Internet.  Decision at
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0156380pv2.pdf

Paul Alan Levy
Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 588-1000
http://www.citizen.org/litigation/litigation.html

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