Bloglaw

     Well, after an exhaustive investigation, consisting of googling "blog comments libel" and clicking the first of a bazillion hits, I discovered at least one ruling that finds bloggers cannot be held liable for potentially defamatory comments by anonymous posters, even if the blog owners monitor or limit comments (and thus appear to exercise editorial discretion). The immunity is founded on the Communications Act.

     Here's the 2006 law.com article. 

     What it doesn't address is whether comments posted by identifiable individuals, rather than anonymous posters, might implicate the blog host. And the ruling's more than two years old. Maybe there's been an update. 

     I became intensely interested in this topic this morning, after an exchange with an author friend whose personal life and character have been savaged in the last few months by a handful of vicious but vocal blog commenters. (The overwhelming majority of Internet posts I've run across regarding this author are reasonable: polite if not extremely complimentary of the writer himself as well as his work.) One of the worst offenders, in my opinion, was a genius who linked to his own, personally identifiable -- as in picture of the guy on the homepage -- livejournal site. I'm all for free speech. I'm also all for manners, generosity, intelligent discourse, honest disagreement and common sense.