Although the definitions of these may seem obvious, there are always nuances of the legal definition that can introduce you to legal nightmares. Free speech in the United States has a price and responsibility.

Remember, if you have a blog, Web 2.0, a forum, or in other ways accept post from others, you could be at risk.

Defamatory Statements

Consider the defamatory statement. Defamatory comments can be about another person, a competitor, or product.

Defamation is defined as the intentional false communication (oral, written or image) that damages the good reputation of someone, a companies good name or reputation, or that of a product, group, government, or nation.

Slander involves spoken words or comments. Liable refers to written words or images.

It actually gets more complicated than this. If your site in anyway gets into making disparaging comments about anything or about anyone else, you really need to get an attorney that specializes in this area of law. Because of the legal risks, many web hosts will not allow sites that promote this kind of speech.

Opinion

One legal defense to defamation is that what is said is opinion.

The United States Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment does not require recognition of an opinion privilege. So although opinion may not put you at risk, merely saying that a statement is an opinion will not necessarily be a defense.

In the world of the web, the act of defamation could be accused when someone makes strong statements. Suppose someone posts an opinion that not only did the reader not like it, the poster goes on to say that the readers should not buy it because it will not work or do what it advertises it will do.

Invasion of Privacy

invasion of privacy is another area of concern. Although you may do things properly, your visitors may not. Also, just because something is true does not give the right to share it with the world.

This is especially true with things that are otherwise private. This is an area to use caution with your site.

If this is a subject matter of your site, you need to see a lawyer experienced in this type of law.

To protect yourself from charges of defamation of character from others posts, there are steps you can take. Click Here to learn more about DMCA

Do you know the Other Website Legalities to Consider?

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