Chat on a message board grounds for lawsuit?
 

Hi all!

A friend of mine has a message board I admin for her. Recently, there have been rumblings of a lawsuit for things that have been said on this message board, threats of a subpeona, and advice for her to seek legal counsel.

Can a site owner be sued for things said by the members of a message board?

Anything in hard writing?

Oh, no nothing yet, but there are serious rumblings, not your regular rumor mill type things.

I believe there's a federal law that offers protection to Internet providers for content their visitors post or transmit. Also, some courts have separately held that "criticism when framed as opinion is not libelous".

In most cases, these are just threats and will never follow thru.
However, it's best to be prepared for such things. eg. A good lawyer will always find something to sue you on. eg. "trademark infringement"

1)__ I recommend creating an LLC (USA business entity).
2)__ Make sure you have a PRIVACY POLICY, LEGAL DISCLAIMER, TERMS OF SERVICE policies on your site. They should be easily accessible.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a lawyer and do not claim to know anything about the law.

NOTE: Check with local state laws. Some states are considering passing legislation where "the site" can be held liable.

Its possible...

Until you get something in hard writing..... Don't even worry about it... :banana:

They passed something in america about 'annoying messages' which applies to electronic communication. hehe... Such a crap law. Oh well.

Yeah, but that was for the state of New Jersy.....

A person can sue another for any reason they can come up with regardless of law. This doesnt mean it will or can go anywhere. People are always threatening to sue others when they get all butt hurt. Unless a lawyer contacts you in writting I wouldnt worry. If they do, you can take steps to squash any lawsuit.