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I'm not a lawyer and certainly not a Dutch commercial lawyer. This is just general info. > I can publish whatever I want, right? Freedom of speech? Not exact

by retrac 5y ago

I'm not a lawyer and certainly not a Dutch commercial lawyer. This is just general info. > I can publish whatever I want, right? Freedom of speech? Not exactly. For a clear cut example, something like "Competitor X has a rootkit which will upload all your nudes to Facebook" is libel (unless they really do that) and you'd lose that case in almost any jurisdiction. Even far less blatant statements like "is slow" or "is less secure" can run afoul there. Libel laws vary tremendously by jurisdiction. There's a separate issue also of advertising standards; many EU nations, including I believe .nl have laws requiring fair and honest presentation of the product and competitors. And they can be pretty strict. There have been countless court cases and tribunal rulings on "the fastest network" or "fewer dropped calls" being dishonest advertising with mobile service providers, for example. Often boils down to: can you prove the claim?

glandium 5y ago
> For a clear cut example, something like "Competitor X has a rootkit which will upload all your nudes to Facebook" is libel (unless they really do that) and you'd lose that case in almost any jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions it can be libel or something legally similar, even if they really do that. In the one case I know (Japan), things change, though, after the justice system has issued a sentence.
- sebastien_b 5y ago
  > In some jurisdictions it can be libel or something legally similar, even if they really do that The only sensible time I would see this being legitimate is if it was something secret/confidential (but still legal) being made public (and viewed as being revealed maliciously, depending on content/context); I doubt it would be considered libellous however (but if you have a reference, I'd like to read up on it).
  - glandium 5y ago
    One example that comes to mind is how the Japanese wikipedia page for Iizuka Kozo wouldn't put a single reference to the Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car accident he caused (not even a link to the separate wikipedia page for it) until after he was sentenced, because the wikipedia rules are such as to avoid these legal problems. His name wasn't even mentioned on the runaway car accident page either. http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail_main?re=&vm=02&id=1960 http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail_main?re=&... Chapter XXXIV Crimes against Reputation (Defamation) Article 230 (1) A person who defames another by alleging facts in public shall, regardless of whether such facts are true or false, be punished by imprisonment with or without work for not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen. (2) A person who defames a dead person shall not be punished unless such defamation is based on a falsehood.
robbiejs 5y ago
Thank you for your advice, that really helps! Based on your advice and other comments I have received in this thread I have decided to take the article offline. Will later replace it with a more neutral no-nonsense comparison table, as I still think it's helpful for customers to get an overview on "why choose DGXL instead of X", but leaving out the grandiose statements.

by retrac 5y ago

glandium 5y ago

> For a clear cut example, something like "Competitor X has a rootkit which will upload all your nudes to Facebook" is libel (unless they really do that) and you'd lose that case in almost any jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions it can be libel or something legally similar, even if they really do that. In the one case I know (Japan), things change, though, after the justice system has issued a sentence.

sebastien_b 5y ago
> In some jurisdictions it can be libel or something legally similar, even if they really do that The only sensible time I would see this being legitimate is if it was something secret/confidential (but still legal) being made public (and viewed as being revealed maliciously, depending on content/context); I doubt it would be considered libellous however (but if you have a reference, I'd like to read up on it).
- glandium 5y ago
  One example that comes to mind is how the Japanese wikipedia page for Iizuka Kozo wouldn't put a single reference to the Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car accident he caused (not even a link to the separate wikipedia page for it) until after he was sentenced, because the wikipedia rules are such as to avoid these legal problems. His name wasn't even mentioned on the runaway car accident page either. http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail_main?re=&vm=02&id=1960 http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail_main?re=&... Chapter XXXIV Crimes against Reputation (Defamation) Article 230 (1) A person who defames another by alleging facts in public shall, regardless of whether such facts are true or false, be punished by imprisonment with or without work for not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen. (2) A person who defames a dead person shall not be punished unless such defamation is based on a falsehood.

robbiejs 5y ago

Thank you for your advice, that really helps! Based on your advice and other comments I have received in this thread I have decided to take the article offline. Will later replace it with a more neutral no-nonsense comparison table, as I still think it's helpful for customers to get an overview on "why choose DGXL instead of X", but leaving out the grandiose statements.