Document Actions
Tues late: Fightin' Words, part 2
posted at 2009-02-04 01:14 | Last modified 2009-02-04 11:23
Quick -- what’s the top threat facing NC? The budget crunch? Unemployment? An outdated tax structure? Global warming? Nope. It's blogs. Just ask State Senator Pastor Steve Goss.
“I believe these blogs are getting out of control,” Goss (D-Watauga) told the N&O. He filed this bill today to make sure blogs are subject to libel laws. Of course, as it turns out, they already are -- even more so than traditional media. But why chance it, right?
As far as my limited research shows, Goss has never been targeted (not libelously, anyway) by a blog. He’s also said he’s never read anything about himself he considered libelous. And some who’ve worked for him say he’s actually pretty progressive in technological terms (H/T: Blue NC).
So why this bill?
One very strong possibility is that Goss is “carrying water” for other members of his caucus, some of whom have had a far rougher time online than he ever has. The first two names that spring to mind here are Sens. Julia Boseman and R.C. Soles, but they certainly aren’t the only ones. (Legal disclaimer: To the best of my knowledge, that is, of course. Thanks, James.)
The problems with SB46, apart from its glaring redundancy, are legion. The most prominent is that it further institutionalizes unequal treatment for traditional media, which gets some leeway in libel suits, and online media/commentary, which gets zip.
Don't get me wrong -- I’m not advocating malicious lies about anyone in any medium. But since existing law already covers that anyway, it’s difficult to see any point to this overkill bill, aside from putting the Fear of Torts into citizens who might be tempted to say something online that their elected leaders don’t like. And I really don't see why that Constitutional right ought to be better protected in print than in pixels.
Comments? Drop me a line.
