[liberationtech] Independent UK Critic of NBC has Twitter account suspended after network complains

Tue Jul 31 13:01:14 PDT 2012

Twitter has publicly apologized, though only for the fact that their
employees notified NBC about the tweet:
http://blog.twitter.com/2012/07/our-approach-to-trust-safety-and.html

On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 8:48 AM, Lina Srivastava <lina at linasrivastava.com>wrote:

> Bernard,
> Even if NBC were claiming libel, it probably wouldn't fly. Defamation
> requires the declaration of a false statement, and Adams would likely have
> a fairly strong argument that the first part of his tweet is an opinion,
> and the second part, the email address, is a fact.  We're fairly narrow
> about defamation in the US because of the 1st Amendment. (Also, not sure
> defamation would constitute a cybercrime in the US, as we tend to see it
> largely as a civil matter-- a tort giving rise to damages, as opposed to a
> crime. Cyber law would likely apply, though.)  This is a matter of privacy
> and confidentiality, if the email address were considered to be
> confidential, and rights of use.
>
> Lina
>
> On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 11:13 AM, Jillian C. York <jilliancyork at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Bernard,
>>
>> Twitter's explanation was not that the statement was defamatory, but that
>> Adams had *posted private information*.  The email address he posted,
>> however, is not private: it is available on NBC.com.  That's the entire
>> case.
>>
>> -Jillian
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 1:39 AM, Bernard Tyers - ei8fdb <
>> ei8fdb at ei8fdb.org> wrote:
>>
>>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>>> Hash: SHA1
>>>
>>>
>>> (Slightly devil's advocate/contrarian POV)
>>>
>>> Interesting story, and Adams probably has a case but it never ceases to
>>> amaze me when people disconnect their "real world" brains from their
>>> "Internet" brains.
>>>
>>> I would be the first person to complain if someone's free-speech was
>>> taken away, however, if Adams has said anything defamatory in his Twitter
>>> stream, then he is still bound by "real world" laws.
>>>
>>> Just because I say something defamatory or libellous about person X on
>>> the Internet, doesn't mean that *IF* it's found that a "real-world" legal
>>> process cannot be executed.
>>>
>>> Most people using the Internet may not understand that, but I would have
>>> expected journalists to understand it.
>>>
>>> Is it illegal to suspend someones services for naming an executive of a
>>> media company for doing XYZ in the USA? I have no idea.
>>>
>>> If it is illegal, then people need to speak out against a ridiculously
>>> brain-dead law.
>>>
>>> If it is not illegal, people need to complain to Twitter for freedom of
>>> speech. Twitter need to rewind their equally brain-dead actions and
>>> apologise to the guy.
>>>
>>> Now, if he has said nothing "illegal" on Twitter, then IMHO, fire up the
>>> legal drones Guy. This I unfortunately have direct experience of. At this
>>> point it becomes (certainly in parts of Europe) a case of "who's got the
>>> bigger legal team".
>>>
>>> (My reasoning comes from Bruce Schneier's argument on laws specific to
>>> "cybercrimes". To paraphrase "Prosecution can be difficult in cyberspace.
>>> On one hand the crimes are the same.....The laws against certain practices,
>>> complete with criminal justice infrastructure to enforce them, are already
>>> in place....Fraud is fraud, whether it takes place over the US mail or the
>>> Internet.")
>>>
>>>
>>> On 31 Jul 2012, at 00:17, David Johnson wrote:
>>>
>>> >
>>> >
>>> http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--critic-of-nbc-has-twitter-account-suspended-after-network-complains.html
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > David V. Johnson
>>> > Web Editor
>>> > Boston Review
>>> > Website: http://www.bostonreview.net
>>> >
>>> > Twitter:
>>> > http://twitter.com/BostonReview
>>> > Tumblr: http://bostonreview.tumblr.com
>>> >
>>> > Cell: (917)903-3706
>>> >
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>>>
>>> - --------------------------------------
>>> Bernard / bluboxthief / ei8fdb
>>>
>>> IO91XM / www.ei8fdb.org
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *+1-857-891-4244 |** jilliancyork.com | @jilliancyork *
>>
>> "We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want
>> the seemingly impossible to become a reality" - *Vaclav Havel*
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Lina Srivastava
> --
> linasrivastava.com  |  twitter <http://twitter.com/lksriv>  |  linkedin<http://www.linkedin.com/in/linasrivastava>
>
>
>

-- 
*+1-857-891-4244 |** jilliancyork.com | @jilliancyork *

"We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want the
seemingly impossible to become a reality" - *Vaclav Havel*
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