4 ms·

Have you checked out the draconian libel laws in the UK? They apply if the "libel" can be read from the UK. How about the privacy laws in Italy - check what ju

by bdfh42 17y ago

Have you checked out the draconian libel laws in the UK? They apply if the "libel" can be read from the UK. How about the privacy laws in Italy - check what just happened to some Google Execs... This could end up as a great "get rich quick" scheme for the lawyers. Sorry to come on as a dampener but this is risky territory.

drtse4 17y ago
Was thinking about Italy too, if someone dared to launch something like this here he will receive a nice subpoena right after the site went public. Anonymous publicly visible opinions on someone else? Not here, way too risky.
- pinksoda 17y ago
  Semi-public information, such as address or phone number, isn't allowed on the profiles, even though a simple whitepages.com search allows that. The amount of information in the more than 1 million reviews that would be considered "private" is less than what you would already find through available avenues such as a Google search or even public records.
pinksoda 17y ago
It doesn't seem risky in the US, I'm not aware of any similar laws here. Fortunately, I don't live in the UK, so their laws don't apply to me, even if they say they do.
- pbhjpbhj 17y ago
  Ha, good one. It's more generally called "forum shopping" but specfically it would be "libel tourism". http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15179462 http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?stor... might open your eyes a little: >The most famous example is the case of Rachel Ehrenfeld, an American who wrote a book about the funding of Islamic terrorism. It sold a mere 23 copies in Britain, over the internet. But a Saudi businessman sued her in a London court and was awarded over £100,000 ($160,000).
  - pinksoda 17y ago
    That's pretty common. Take a look here: >> Despite its track record of successfully defending cases brought in U.S. courts, in July 2003 a default judgment was entered against the site in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court High Court of Justice for EC$27,100,932.00.[4] The award, made in Eastern Caribbean currency rather than U.S. dollars, has not been recognized or enforced by any U.S. Court. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripoff_Report http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripoff_Report
Scott_MacGregor 17y ago
This is really something that will need to be adressed (fixed) in the near future before it gets out of hand and really impacts our industry in a negative manner. Things like this seem to give a small minority of people anywhere on the globe the ability to basicaly terrorize and shake down companies and people in our industry. I beleive that some kind of international free-harbor provision would be benificial to the internet and allow it to continue to grow freely.
- pinksoda 17y ago
  Just don't let them terrorize you. Stand your ground, fight the fight. I've had several very successful websites and I was always dealing with people and companies trying to "shake me down." I think it's just part of the game.

by bdfh42 17y ago

drtse4 17y ago

Was thinking about Italy too, if someone dared to launch something like this here he will receive a nice subpoena right after the site went public. Anonymous publicly visible opinions on someone else? Not here, way too risky.

pinksoda 17y ago
Semi-public information, such as address or phone number, isn't allowed on the profiles, even though a simple whitepages.com search allows that. The amount of information in the more than 1 million reviews that would be considered "private" is less than what you would already find through available avenues such as a Google search or even public records.

pinksoda 17y ago

It doesn't seem risky in the US, I'm not aware of any similar laws here. Fortunately, I don't live in the UK, so their laws don't apply to me, even if they say they do.

pbhjpbhj 17y ago
Ha, good one. It's more generally called "forum shopping" but specfically it would be "libel tourism". http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15179462 http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?stor... might open your eyes a little: >The most famous example is the case of Rachel Ehrenfeld, an American who wrote a book about the funding of Islamic terrorism. It sold a mere 23 copies in Britain, over the internet. But a Saudi businessman sued her in a London court and was awarded over £100,000 ($160,000).
- pinksoda 17y ago
  That's pretty common. Take a look here: >> Despite its track record of successfully defending cases brought in U.S. courts, in July 2003 a default judgment was entered against the site in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court High Court of Justice for EC$27,100,932.00.[4] The award, made in Eastern Caribbean currency rather than U.S. dollars, has not been recognized or enforced by any U.S. Court. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripoff_Report http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripoff_Report

Scott_MacGregor 17y ago

This is really something that will need to be adressed (fixed) in the near future before it gets out of hand and really impacts our industry in a negative manner. Things like this seem to give a small minority of people anywhere on the globe the ability to basicaly terrorize and shake down companies and people in our industry. I beleive that some kind of international free-harbor provision would be benificial to the internet and allow it to continue to grow freely.

pinksoda 17y ago
Just don't let them terrorize you. Stand your ground, fight the fight. I've had several very successful websites and I was always dealing with people and companies trying to "shake me down." I think it's just part of the game.