Javilk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> We provide space to a number of people who make, at times somewhat
> controversial statements. One such page, is
> http://www.mall-net.com/mcs/algae.html ,
[...]
> The vendor of the product mentioned on that page states that they
> have sued the author, and is threatening to haul us in to court if that
> page is not removed within two days. (Their first threat was e-mailed to
> us in the proprietary MS Word format, which we could not read.)
Well, I'm not a lawyer etc. disclaimer etc.
But it would seem to me that they do not ask you to remove the
page. They ask you to remove the link. Two options come to mind:
1. You could defend yourself on the basis that it can hardly be
forbidden to reference a document that is published elsewhere. Imagine
what this would mean to Hotbot and Altavista. This also begs the
question of how many link levels are needed before you are *not*
liable for your links. Is it enough, if one extra page bridges between
your site and a controversial statement; 2 levels; 10? You very soon
get into a situation where the whole web is liable....
2. You could move all "controversial statements" to a webserver in
another jurisdiction. I know xs4all in The Netherlands has an explicit
policy in this. Their legal position is, that they refuse to read the
sites they're hosting, since they're a telcom operator not a spy
agency. They will not remove pages unless and until ordered to do so
by court, in which case they will comply. However, that court should
be Dutch, of course ;-).
http://www.xs4all.nl starts at 5MB for about US$ 15/month for a
standard user account.
Combine 1) and 2) and they can hardly touch you.
:*CU#
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