If You Can't Type Something Nice Part 2

On May 30th of last year, I wrote about the risks of being sued for libel by posting online It appears this problem is becoming more widespread. The May 16^th issue of The Tennessean carried a story about a local man who had been sued by a Florida condo owner because he had posted a negative review of a rental condo on TripAdvisor.com. This is exacerbated by the Florida Court’s somewhat broad expansion of jurisdiction. It appears that if you exercise your First Amendment rights to free speech on the internet, you run a serious risk of being sued by a litigious condo owner. The traditional concept of “truth” as a defense to libel probably pales when one considers the costs of hiring counsel in another state to defend your rights. This is not good news for First Amendment absolutists, but it is pragmatic advice for the rest of us.