Bloggers: Online Outlaws

Freedom of speech, is not so free. Thanks to the Internet there are millions of citizen journalists, published authors, and public diaries. Bloggers fill internet pages with raves and rants on just about everything. But it turns out some of those rants have serious repercussions. According to an article by the LA Times, lawsuits against bloggers are popping up all over the country.

Without the face time of a broadcaster, or the by line of a print journalist, bloggers feel they can hide behind their computer screens. Doing so allows many people to say what they're truly thinking: the Internet's version of beer muscles. Most of the time that's not a problem. After all, opinion is opinion.

But some bloggers take it too far. According to the LA Times article, one blogger could face up to 10 years in prison for saying Chicago judges "deserved to be killed" for ruling against a 2nd Amendment challenge to the city's gun laws.

Sometimes, bloggers don't realize the impact their posts have. Few of the millions of blogs out there have any serious followings. So the average blogger might expect their words to fall on deaf ears. But those words stay there, framed on the Internet landscape for the rest of eternity.

The posts provide an ongoing record of what was once rumored gossip and personal journal entries.

Even if the blogger is not the one to post libelous statements, often they can be forced to reveal the identity of the person who did. And it's not limited to blogs; Facebook pages and Twitter accounts have also been used in several defamation of character lawsuits. So watch what you post, because choosing the right words for your blog is like navigating a minefield of libel lawsuits.