• Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Legal / illegal is the wrong term here because this type of thing is a civil matter.

    Has it been ever a civil matter for any other company that hosts? I have not heard of any lawsuits of any kind for decades at this point.

    As far as I know this is completely and absolutely settled, with no concern about future litigation possible.

    IANAL.

    • DogMuffins@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 year ago

      As far as I know this is completely and absolutely settled

      That may be true, but it’s easy to say that as a third party who is not receiving threats of litigation.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That may be true, but it’s easy to say that as a third party who is not receiving threats of litigation.

        Well I’m not saying it out of ignorance as a third party, I’ve actually read articles going all the way back to the time of BBS sites, where US laws protect those who host these sites from being responsible for the comments that people make that sit on their servers.

        I don’t remember the exact law name right now (IANAL) but I know it exists, I’ve read articles about it before.

        • DogMuffins@discuss.tchncs.de
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          1 year ago

          That doesn’t really address my point though.

          Even if you’re 100% confident that you will ultimately be found blameless, most people would take action to avoid facing a civil suit.

          A well resourced opponent will drag you to consultation. Even forcing you to respond to a legal demand is an arduous task. You might grind through it and even get awarded costs, but you’d have to bear those costs while you’re going through the process.

          Point is, they can still destroy your resolve without winning a case.

          • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Even forcing you to respond to a legal demand is an arduous task.

            You’re over exaggerating the effort required to initially defend yourself against something like this.

            Plus the safe harbor laws are very defined, so a judge would most likely throw the case out of court early on, if it even ever got that far. The safe harbor laws as I understand them are very clear on this.

            • DogMuffins@discuss.tchncs.de
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              1 year ago

              You’re overexaggerating the desire for volunteers invest any effort whatsoever in defending themselves against a sophisticated and well resourced civil lawsuit.

              • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                You’re overexaggerating the desire for volunteers invest any effort whatsoever

                Now that’s hyperbole.

                And again, while I am not a lawyer, my understanding is the law is very specific and very clear on this matter. Companies that host sites that people put comments on (as long as they follow the hosting requirements of the law) are immune from prosecution. Safe harbors.