Archive for the
‘Online Defamation News’ Category

Google and Amazon already under investigation and new laws proposed to hit review fraudsters harder The UK government has announced that it is to continue its plans to crackdown on fake reviews, with improved enforcement powers for the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) and tougher actions, including substantial fines and potential actions against company directors. […]

Online Defamation News  Online defamation, particularly on reviews websites continues to be an issue for many businesses.  This latest case comes soon after KwikChex took successful action over severe attacks made on a business in Essex, UK, using Google Reviews – see KwikChex News  Disgruntled client ordered to pay £25,000 damages for libellous review  Credits: The Law Society Gazette, by […]

‘Information and advice for businesses on how to comply with consumer protection law in the online reviews and endorsements sectors.’ ‘Our short advice and open letters explain what review sites, businesses, media agencies and those publishing opinions online should do to make sure they comply with consumer protection law.’ Above excerpts, full details and links […]

Credits: TechCrunch By Ingrid Lunden (@ingridlunden), 8th March 2016 Fake reviews have been an occasional and frustrating by-product on sites like Google, Yelp and Amazon for years. But a recent case in the Netherlands highlights how one company affected by them fought back. A nursery in Amsterdam has won a case against Google in a civil court in the city […]

Credits: TechCrunch.com by Sarah Perez, March 8th  ‘Peeple, the controversial people-rating application that lets its users rate and review anyone, is not a hoax or vaporware, as many suspected following the media backlash surrounding the unveiling of the company’s intentions last fall. The Washington Post even called the app “terrifying,” given that the app didn’t plan to allow […]

Credits: Bighospitality.co.uk, By Sophie Witts, 04-Mar-2016 Businesses which arrange for third parties to write fake positive reviews about them online are at risk of falling foul of consumer protection law, according to new guidance. Above excerpt and read the full article: bighospitality.co.uk

Credits: Telegraph By Katie Morley 1st March 2016 Companies that post fake reviews on websites to boost their ratings could face fines of thousands of pounds as part of a new Government crackdown on misleading business practices. The Telegraph understands that the Department for Business Innovation and Skills is considering banning the practice of writing or […]

Credits: ABC News Australia Influential American travel website TripAdvisor is investigating claims Australia’s largest residential apartment developer is “cheating the system” by preventing guests at its luxury hotels from submitting negative reviews. Above excerpts and read the full article on www.abc.net.au

KwikChex mention in Daily Telegraph article about fake online reviews: KwikChex, an online investigations body, said it had identified and exposed thousands of online fake reviews, both negative and positive. A spokesman said: “Whilst that exposure has pressured some reviews sites to invest more in fraud detection, there are still many problems on a vast […]

Credits: Mail Online By: Callum Paton * Jason Page, 20, from Telford was sued by US lawyer Timothy Bussey * The Colorado lawyer had received abuse on a Google Maps profile * Judge said it was ‘likely’ Page had been paid to post damaging comments * Lawyer went to extreme lengths and pursued his attacker […]

Credits: TravelMole B&B owners are being urged to share their experiences of negative and fake reviews as part of a major Government probe. The Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into online review sites to check the information posted is ‘genuine, relevant and trustworthy’. Above excerpts and read the full article on www.travelmole.com

Credits: Above the Law By: Matthew Adams Online posts often enjoy an anonymity that lures people into a false sense of security. Coupled with the inherently impersonal nature of the internet, the impact from user generated online content can be devastating to a business. A word of caution is due to the unscrupulous business that […]

Credits: The Globe and Mail By Susan Krashinsky – Marketing Reporter Canada’s Competition Bureau is looking into the issue of “astroturfing” – fake online reviews written to look like they come from regular consumers, but that are actually written by someone affiliated with the product or service being reviewed. Above excerpts and read the full […]

Credits: Mail Online Reporting by Liisa Tuhkanen; Editing by Tom Heneghan Google Inc said on Monday it had reached a settlement with a British businessman over defamatory postings in its search results describing him as a pedophile, a murderer and a money-launderer. Above excerpts and read the full article on www.dailymail.co.uk

Credits: Sky Valley Chronicle Two parents in Georgia whose teenager set up a fake Facebook page to ridicule a classmate have found themselves facing a defamation lawsuit, a state appeals court ruled on Tuesday. Above excerpts and read the full article on www.skyvalleychronicle.com

Credits: Mail Online By: Thomas Burrows * 18,304 requests from Britons to remove links to more than 60,000 URLs * UK has third highest number of requests, behind France and Germany * EU’s ‘right to be forgotten’ allows EU citizens to ask for links to be removed from Google search results * Google has published […]

Credits: CBS Baltimore / The Daily Record By: Lauren Kirkwood Widespread collection of personal data online frequently prompts debate about privacy, but there is one group of people that has largely managed to remain behind a wall of anonymity, says Danielle Citron: perpetrators of online threats and harassment. Above excerpts and read the full article […]

Credits: Mondaq By: Delvene Michael In a landmark decision, and the first of its kind in Australia, the New South Wales District Court has ordered a former student of Orange High School to pay $105,000 to a teacher for defamatory tweets. Above excerpts and read the full article on www.mondaq.com

Credits: Uproxx Web Culture By: Andy Issac Most of our coverage of online reviews has a very serious element – businesses being destroyed by bad fake reviews, rogue businesses planting fake good reviews etc. But this one is in a somewhat lighter note – the story of a ‘reviewer’ that has an unique way of […]

Credits: Mail Online By: Alexandra Klausner * The Union Street Guest House in Hudson, NY doesn’t allow negative Yelp reviews for wedding guests * Of the 572 Yelp reviews online, 554 of them were posted on Monday after media outlets drew attention to the hotel’s policy * Please know that despite the fact that wedding […]

Credits: Forbes By: Eric Goldman Few online algorithms generate as much criticism as Yelp’s algorithm for filtering its users’ reviews, but Yelp has so far successfully avoided a serious legal challenge to its filter. Last week, a California appellate court green-lighted a lawsuit over how Yelp publicly describes its user reviews. This means a judge […]

Credits: Mail Online By: Associated Press A court has ruled that a Hong Kong tycoon can sue Google over its autocomplete results suggesting he has links to organized crime. In a judgment released Wednesday, the court dismissed the Internet search giant’s objections to tycoon Albert Yeung’s defamation lawsuit. Above excerpts and read the full article […]

Credits: The Independent By: Adam Withnall Clearer guidelines from the Government are needed so that people know when they can and cannot be prosecuted over “revenge porn”, social media “trolling” and other indecent material posted online, a Lords committee has said. The trend of “revenge porn” involves people uploading explicit videos and images of former […]

Credits: London Loves Business By: Shruti Tripathi Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins is suing Yelp for “defamatory and disgusting” reviews about the company. The London-based plumbing company complained to Yelp about five reviews which were subsequently removed by the San Francisco-based website. However, Mullins has taken issue with two other reviews Yelp has refused to […]

Credits: Mail Online By: Lizzie Edmonds * Chris Hobson, 46, who wrote 512 reviews in 2013, is site’s ‘top reviewer’ * But he is now facing legal action over one of his scathing critiques * Director of Double Barrel Steakhouse and Grill claims his words are libelous * Sarah Bird says man threatened poor score […]

Credits: BBC News By: Kevin Rawlinson A French judge has ruled against a blogger because her scathing restaurant review was too prominent in Google search results. The judge ordered that the post’s title be amended and told the blogger Caroline Doudet to pay damages. Above excerpts and read the full article on www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28331598

Credits: Digital Pulse PWC By: Patrick Stafford It’s hard to deny the power of online reviews isn’t continuing to grow – judging by the backlash of businesses which feel they have suffered at the hands of fraudulent reviews. Above excerpts and read the full article on www.digitalpulse.pwc.com.au

Credits: The Age By: Ben Grubb The consumer watchdog is taking legal action in the Federal Court against an Australian cleaning company it says was involved in posting fake testimonials about its business on the internet. Above excerpts and read the full article on www.theage.com.au

Credits: ZDNet By: Mary Jo Foley Microsoft Internet Explorer officials are attempting to distance themselves from a paid social-media effort by an advocate marketing company meant to promote Microsoft’s IE browser. Above excerpts and read the full article on https://www.zdnet.com

Credits: The Conversation By: Stephen King The internet is an endless source of information. But who is liable if the information is wrong or, at least, misleading? Above excerpts and read the full article on www.theconversation.com

Credits: Mail Online By: Ted Thornhill * TripAdvisor user left review of Lincoln City hotel it’s claimed is ‘malicious’ * ’12Kelly’ wrote that some staff at The Ashley Inn ‘were high or drunk’ * The anonymous user also alleged that the owner smoked drugs * At the time of writing 158 reviews of the hotel […]

Credits: BBC News By: Jane Wakefield Google has received fresh takedown requests after a European court ruled that an individual could force it to remove “irrelevant and outdated” search results, the BBC has learned. An ex-politician seeking re-election has asked to have links to an article about his behaviour in office removed. A man convicted of […]

Credits: Mail Oneline By: Sam Webb * Restaurants and hotels report rise in diners dropping website’s name * They threaten to post negative review if they don’t get free food or wine * One steak house owner says alarming trend ‘just isn’t right’ Above excerpts and read the full article on www.dailymail.co.uk/

Credits: Saint Peters Blog By: Rick Outzen ‘A Philadelphia judge has ordered the owners of Philly.com to disclose the identity of a person who posted a comment online calling the plaintiff a pedophile.’ Above excerpts and read the full article on www.saintpetersblog.com

Credits: WCPO By: Jane Andreasik ‘Don’t ever assume you’re anonymous’ “Everyone is promoting ‘Oh, no one’s going to be able to figure out who you are’ is very dangerous for a lot of kids. Don’t ever assume you’re anonymous. Don’t do it under the disbelief that it’s not going to be traced back to you,” […]

Credits: The Oregonian By: Aimee Green Thinking of posting a bad review about your latest dining experience, doctor you consulted or contractor you hired? Better think twice, if you don’t want to get sued. That’s the de facto message the Oregon Court of Appeals sent Wednesday, when it breathed new life into a $7,500 defamation […]

Credits: MFMonitor A Philadelphia court has ordered philly.com, a website to reveal the name of an anonymous commenter, for his defamatory comments on electricians’ union leader John Dougherty, triggering new move on online comments and their anonymity. The user made a comment anonymously known as “trolls” with a fictious name “fbpdplt,” and called Dougherty in […]

Credits: The Washington Times By: Joe Hadeed Back in 1955, when a customer brought a rug to Hadeed Carpet Cleaning, it would be hand-cleaned in my family’s driveway. Today, we still clean carpets with the same care and attention, but we’ve grown quite a lot over the decades, and now serve more than 30,000 residential […]

Credits: The Eater By: Hillary Dixler In a blow to angry Yelpers nationwide, a Virginia court has ruled that one woman’s scathing Yelp reviews of a local contractor were in fact defamation. In a dramatic turn, the contractor who sued her was found guilty of defamation too. The Washington Post reports that the multi-day trial […]

Credits: Herald Sun Business By: John Rolfe State fair trading authorities and ACCC investigating bogus reviews on internet AT least 10 businesses have been sprung posting bogus reviews on the internet to dupe would-be customers. Those suspected of feathering their own online nest include a major funeral company, a high-end restaurant and a building company […]

Credits: Mail Online By: Victoria Woollaston * More than a fifth of Americans have reviewed a product they’ve never used * This rises to almost a third of parents with children under 18 * The majority (32%) claimed they did so simply because ‘they felt like it’ * While 22% admitted they just didn’t like […]

Credits: Search Engine Land By: Matt McGee It’s been almost a year and a half since Yelp began issuing Consumer Alerts when a business on its site has been caught trying to get fake reviews; but after a cautious start, that program appears to be turning up the heat. According to an interview with CEO […]

Credits: Hospitality Magazine By: Brea Carter In a bid to tackle issues surrounding fake online reviews, The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released a best practice guide for businesses and review platforms such as UrbanSpoon. Online reviews: a guide for business and review platforms touches on everything from guiding principles for posting reviews […]

Credits: Fox4News By: Linda Wagar KANSAS CITY, Mo. –Social review sites started out as a great way to share tips about a hip new clothing store or a hot restaurant. In fact, those reviews have become so important that business owners will got to great lengths, even break the law, to manipulate them. Whether you […]

Credits: News.com.au FAKE hotel reviews are becoming more common and travellers should not rely on user-generated content says research released today by CHOICE. “The boom in hotel review sites has given rise to the practice of ‘astroturfing’ or the writing of fake reviews by companies to promote their own accommodation,” says CHOICE Head of Media […]

Credits: CNN Money By: Jennifer Alseve It’s not uncommon to receive a few negative reviews, but what’s the best way to handle it? Here’s what you don’t want to do: Call online reviewers punks, trash or other expletives on your company Facebook page like the owners of Amy’s Baking Company did last spring. Their outrageous […]

Credits: Business 2 Community By: Andrea Eldridge Online reviews can be a great tool to help find a hotel for your next trip, a reputable handy man or the best coffeemaker around. On our last trip to San Francisco, we ate our way from one delicious restaurant to the next, all with the assistance of […]

Credits: BU Today By: Susan Seligson If you’re combing Yelp reviews to decide where to eat, you’re likely to be misled or even duped, according to Georgios Zervas, coauthor of a recent study concluding that at least 16 percent of the reviews are fake. The researchers found that the worst offenders are restaurants seeking to […]

Credits: Business 2 Community By: Richard Larson In case you haven’t heard, it is the age of customer service. The customer does not have to be right but the customer is king in our new online economy. From the business perspective, customer service can be even more difficult because customers do not see the employees […]

Credits: Hospitality Magazine By: Danielle Bowling ‘The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is cracking down on fake online reviews, setting up best practice guidelines in consultation with industry and consumer groups. Fake reviews posted by competitors or disgruntled diners on websites including Urbanspoon and Eatability have long been a sore point for chefs and […]

Credits: Herald Sun By: ANTHONY GOUGH ‘FED-UP restaurant owners are fighting back against anonymous online reviewers, saying unfair negative ratings are dragging their names through the mud and driving away their business. With the growth of websites such as Urbanspoon and Eatability, restaurateurs have reported customers threatening them with bad reviews to extort free food […]

Credits: The West Australian By: Rob Broadfield ‘Veteran chef, restaurateur and industry leader Russell Blaikie has urged hospitality businesses to “push back the tide of bile and madness” from internet-based restaurant ratings sites such as Urbanspoon and TripAdvisor. Blaikie, co-owner of multiple award-winning Must Winebar in Highgate, is the keynote speaker at tonight’s prestigious West […]

Credits: Small Business Trends By: Anita Campbell ‘Yelp filed suit against a business (a law firm no less!) over what it claims are fake reviews the business created for itself. While there have been stories before of companies “outed” for being behind fake review efforts, and even FTC complaints, Yelp filing a lawsuit is new. […]

Credits: Cincinnati.com By: Jeffrey Layne Blevins ‘Truth and responsibility may matter again in online defamation cases after a recent U.S. District Court decision in Eastern Kentucky. For too long the anonymity afforded to third-party posters and the broad immunity provided to online operators has fed an untruthful and irresponsible environment for online dialogue. No one […]

Credits: BBC News ‘The UK must do more to stop online fraud and deter state-sponsored cyber-espionage or risk losing the fight against e-crime, MPs have warned. The Home Affairs Select Committee said much low-level internet-based financial crime was falling into a “black hole” and was not reported to the police. The MPs said more officers […]

Credits: The Telegraph By: Daniel Johnson ‘A businessman set up a fake restaurant with glowing reviews in a bid to expose the apparent failings of the TripAdvisor website, prompting baffled customers to be led down a backstreet alleyway.’ ‘Oscar’s was billed as having “amazing” and “mind blowing” Michelin-stared food, built in the hull of an […]

Credits: NCB News By: Rosa Golijan ‘Sometimes people post negative online reviews for products they never even used, not because they really hate a company, want to make a competing product look better or because they’re just bored — but instead, a study suggests, these folks are actually customers who are a little bit too […]

Credits: Trib Live By: The Los Angeles Times ‘Consumers often turn to the Internet to research a product before buying. Fake reviews are always a concern, and the problem may be bigger than previously thought. There have long been reports and rumors of businesses posting negative reviews of their competitors’ products or companies that pay […]

Credits: Business 2 Community By: Cynthia Effinger ‘The fact that a consumer can now share their experiences with thousands at a time through a simple Facebook post is both thrilling and frightening.’ ‘Amy’s Baking Company: A Social Media Nightmare Amy, an Arizona restaurateur, and her co-owner husband recently appeared on the reality show “Kitchen Nightmares” […]

Credits: Los Angeles Times By: Andrea Chang ‘Consumers often turn to the Internet to research a product before buying. Fake reviews are always a concern, and the problem may be bigger than previously thought.’ ‘The duo found that about 5% of the product reviews were written by customers with no record of actually purchasing the […]

Credits: Digital Trends By: Jam Kotenko ‘Yelp has decided to go even bigger with their pursuit against false information and directed a major lawsuit against BuyOnlineReviews.net, which conveniently also owns the domain BuyYelpReview.com. The complaint filed last week seeks to shut down said site through a court injunction as well as complete reimbursement of Yelp’s […]

Credits: The West Australian By: Kate Emery ‘WA consumers who rely on web reviews for everything from where to go for dinner to weight loss treatment are being urged to be sceptical, with research suggesting as many as 30 per cent of online reviews could be fake?’ Above excerpts and read the full article: https://www.au.news.yahoo.com

Credits: It News By: Charis Palmer ‘Retailers to debate who owns data. American Express is planning to join the large pool of transaction data it holds on customers with that of organisations like TripAdvisor to help legitimise customer reviews.’ Above excerpts and read the full article: https://www.itnews.com.au

Credits: The Wall Street Journal ‘Online reputation management expert JW Maxx Solutions advises spiteful internet users to think twice before they post, following a $13 million court case which ruled in favor of the victims. PHOENIX, May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — It is plain and simple: the days of anonymous internet posting are over. The […]

Credits: Western Telegraph Pembrokeshire County Council has been accused of ‘going backwards’ after it stopped publishing certain planning documents online for fear of potential defamation claims. Since January 30th, third party representations on planning applications are no longer posted online to avoid the authority publishing “defamatory material”. Above excerpts and read the full article: https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk […]

Credits: BBC News ‘Fair-trade officials in Taiwan are looking into reports that Samsung paid people to criticise rival HTC online. Samsung is alleged to have hired students to post negative comments about phones made by Taiwan’s HTC. If found guilty of engaging in “false advertising”, Samsung and its local agent could face fines of up […]

Credits: HR Magazine by Jeremy Dickerson ‘The unprecedented growth of social media has seen the number of defamation cases involving online content rapidly increase. The popularity of sites such as Facebook and Twitter and the ability for users to share their views, or ‘retweet’ defamatory or potentially harmful statements, can present a huge problem for […]

Credits: Caterer and Hotelkeeper by Neil Gerrard. ‘Consumer reviews website TripAdvisor has pledged changes to the way it handles information regarding the opening hours of businesses featured on its site, after restaurateurs highlighted a series of inaccuracies that then proved hard to correct.’ ‘Chris Emmins, from online reputation management company Kwikchex, which has also helped […]

Credits: Advocacy Global Voices Online ‘In many countries, the line between the right to free expression and an individual’s right to protect his or her reputation is a blurry one. In the Internet age, the issue has become even more complex. The Internet has created new opportunities for individuals to express their own opinions, but […]

Credits: Irishtimes.com By: PAMELA NEWENHAM ‘Social media sites and users need to smarten up their act as libel cases are being taken and won Social media is arguably the most powerful form of communication in the world. In recent years news and information has spread quicker through Facebook and Twitter than any traditional media method. […]

Credits: IDG News Service By Mikael Ricknäs ‘The Swedish Data Inspection Board wants to make “grave” defamatory remarks made online a crime, even in cases that are currently protected by the country’s constitution. The statement from the public authority follows an inquiry last year by a parliamentary committee that examined whether to update the constitution’s […]

Credits: Mail Online By Damian Ghigliotty * Writers say thousands of mostly positive book reviews have been deleted from the online shopping site in recent months * Amazon will not disclose how many reviews it has erased * Several writers have voiced frustrations with the move * Others are pushing for more vetting of book reviews Amazon […]

Introduction 1. This informal consultation seeks views on the content of regulations to be made under clause 5 of the Bill. The regulations will be prepared following consultation and will be laid before Parliament for the purposes of approval by both Houses in due course. Responses to this consultation should be sent to defamation@justice.gsi.gov.uk by […]

Credits: Irish Examiner By Dan Buckley ‘There are no frontiers for the internet accusers and abusers, writes Dan Buckley Social media such as Facebook and Twitter have become the new Wild West, allowing anonymous users to publish vile comments online and brand innocent people guilty of crimes without the slightest proof.’ Above excerpts and read […]

Credits: CNET By Don Reisinger ‘Google has lost a defamation lawsuit in Australia. An Australian court today ordered Google to pay 200,000 Australian dollars ($208,760) to Milorad Trkulja for showing search results that might have caused users to link him to mobsters.’ Above excerpts and read the full story on www.cnet.com

Credits: thestar.com By: David Graham ‘Katz, 42, posted two negative reviews on restaurantthing. com — the first time she’d ever written an online review — about her unsatisfactory dining experience at Mambo Nuevo Latino restaurant in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.’ ‘That should have been the end of it. Instead, Mambo’s 41-year-old owner Marisol Simoes retaliated by unleashing […]

Credits: The Australian By: Claire Connelly “AN Australian man has won a landmark defamation case against Google after images of him were published alongside gangland figures including drug baron Tony Mokbel. The man – who has lived in Australia for 42 years also claimed that a Google search for his name brought up stories about […]

Credits: The Australian By Kate Schneider ‘Yelp putting on detective hat in bid to find fake reviews is placing a warning sign on the listings of those caught. Claims to have already busted nine companies TIRED of companies trying to trick travellers with fake reviews, Yelp is now publicly shaming those it claims are involved […]

Credits: Mail Online By Emily Allen General manager Frank Long vowed to ‘deny everything’ if details of the scam emerged One review said it was the ‘friendliest airport hotel ever’ and made special reference to the staff “A hotel boss ordered his staff to write bogus reviews of his hotel after it had a series […]

Credits: The Telegraph By: Rosa Prince ‘Former Conservative co-Treasurer, Peter Cruddas, who resigned after boasting that a donation to the Party would be ‘awesome’ for businesses is suing the political consultant who first reported the story.’ ‘Peter Cruddas, a multi-millionaire banker and businessman, is said to have begun legal proceedings for defamation against Mark Adams, […]

Credits: Ad Age By: Michael Learmonth ‘Online reviews can make or break a local business, which is why the incentive to cheat with paid-for, malicious or fraudulent reviews is so great. Weeding out fraud is an inexact science; sites such as TripAdvisor, Google+ Local and Yelp use a mix of algorithms and human moderators to […]

Credits: BBC News ‘Facebook has begun deleting fake page “likes”, independent data suggests. According to Pagedata, many of the site’s most “liked” pages suffered large drops in numbers on Wednesday. The move follows the social network’s admission that 8.7% of its users are not “real”, many having been set up by spammers who use them […]

Credits: BBC News ‘A regional judge has ordered the arrest of Google’s president in Brazil, Fabio Jose Silva Coelho, after the company failed to take down YouTube videos. Authorities say the videos are slanderous towards a candidate running in a city’s election for mayor. The judge ordered the removal of the videos last week, but […]

Credits: Business 2 Community By: Olivia Roat ‘I recently read an article on Mashable that reported on a study from tech research company Gartner. According to Gartner, by 2014, 10 to 15% of social media reviews will be fake and paid for by companies. Chalk it up to naiveté, but I found this news regarding […]

Credits: Herald Online By: University of Houston Law Center ‘With Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and more than half a billion active websites, the Internet provides a forum where messages can spread at lightning speed. At this moment, extremist publications and films appearing online have sparked protests across the world. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) monitors […]

Credits: Business Insider By: Max Nisen ‘When you search for a product or service online, one of the first things you’ll come across are ratings and reviews. The more impressive a company’s rating, the higher it’ll appear on a Google search. And the competition in this space is fierce — which is why there’s been […]

Credits: Technology Spectator By: David Glance ‘LANCASHIRE businesses are losing out on new sales due to fake or unjust reviews, according to a top marketing consultant. Internet review experts Got Juice say the problem affecting Lancashire could be tackled if reviews were required to be authenticated.’ Above excerpts and read the full story on Lancashire […]

Credits: Technology Spectator By: David Glance ‘The American social scientist Donald Campbell observed that as soon as you try to apply and use indicators for social decision-making, the pressure to corrupt the measure increases and it then distorts the process it is measuring. The measure eventually becomes meaningless because it loses its value as a […]

Credits: The Telegraph By: Jo Glanville ‘On Wednesday, sooner than anyone anticipated, the defamation bill returns to the House of Commons for report stage and its third reading, before heading to the House of Lords for its further progress through Parliament. Along the way, it’s likely to collide with the publication of the Leveson Inquiry’s […]

Credits: Firstpost By: Sandip Roy ‘Fake Review Writer is actually a bona fide job category these days. You can find it on the website Freelancer.com alongside more traditional freelancing jobs such as Java programmers and telemarketers. Someone wants 5K fake Facebook likes as fast as possible. At the time I checked, there were three bids for that […]

Credits: Forbes By: Suw Charman-Anderson, Contributor ‘The web has created some fantastic opportunities for authors, publishers and self-publishers alike, but this summer has seen the industry’s dark underbelly revealed in all its venal, pustulant ignominy.’ ‘…successful author Stephen Leather confessed, during an on-stage panel discussion, that he used fake accounts to write reviews and promote […]

Credits: Forbes By: Trefis Team, Contributor ‘…lately, the authenticity of the reviews on TripAdvisor’s website has once again come under scrutiny. TripAdvisor was even investigated by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) in September 2011 following growing criticism of its apparent failure to monitor fake comments posted on its website. As a result of the investigation, in […]

Credits: The Olive Press By: James Bryce ‘This eclectic mix of clientele has inevitably influenced the variety of food and hotels on offer, something which has resulted in an interesting mix being thrown up by TripAdvisor.’ ‘The overall feeling regarding TripAdvisor seems to be one of scepticism, with a cautious acknowledgement of the benefits it […]

Credits: Lawyers.com By: Sylvia Hsieh ‘A student won a $4.5 million civil lawsuit against a former state attorney who defamed him online, followed him and his friends and showed up at his home several times.’ ‘Back in 2010, after Chris Armstrong became the first openly gay student body president at the University of Michigan, a website […]

Credits: The Ottawa Citizen By: Andrew Seymour ‘The husband and the general manager of a ByWard Market restaurant owner also had motive and opportunity to defame a dissatisfied customer who posted a negative review online, a defence lawyer argued in court Tuesday.’ Above excerpts and read the full story on The Ottawa Citizen

Credits: The Telegraph By: Martin Beckford ‘Damages awarded in personal injury, nuisance and defamation cases will rise by 10 per cent from next year, the country’s most senior judges have announced.’ ‘However public bodies that are often sued in civil courts, such as the NHS, will actually save money under the reforms as they will […]

Credits: CBSDenver.com By: Brian Maass ‘A Centennial-based anesthesiologist, Dr. Michael Gesquiere, has filed a civil lawsuit against a former patient, Joanna Putman, claiming her online venting amounted to libel that damaged his reputation and his business.’ “My advice to anyone thinking of posting a negative review, particularly in the immediate aftermath of a bad experience […]

Credits: San Francisco Chronicle By: Chronicle Columnist ‘Internet users who post personal information are finding stalkers can use it as a tool for harassment.’ ‘Carla Franklin landed on a Facebook page created under her name. She was shocked to see her own image staring back, a swimsuit photo from her earlier days as a model. […]

Credits: TrustLaw ‘The re-introduction of criminal libel to Russia’s domestic laws is a yet another serious blow to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today. The European Union member states, the United States, and the Council of Europe should remind the Russian leadership that criminal penalties for libel are regressive and out of step with […]

Credits: TPMIdealLab By: Carl Franzen ‘Limits of free speech in the online age were upheld this week, when a district court judge in Idaho ruled that a local newspaper, the Spokesman-Review would have to turn over the identity of an anonymous commenter who has been sued for defamation by a local Republican Party official.’ Above […]

Credits: The Seattle Times By: Christopher Elliott ‘Online travel giant isn’t very transparent about the way it operates, says columnist Christopher Elliott.’ ‘TripAdvisor.com, which claims to be the world’s largest travel site, bills itself as a place that offers “trusted advice from real travelers.” Corcoran, an office administrator in Baltimore, says that trust was broken when […]

Credits: Mail Online By: Dominique Jackson ‘That is why we should give a cautious welcome to Justice Secretary Ken Clarke’s new proposals to oblige internet service providers to unmask the online bullies who are using their websites to post defamatory messages so that innocent victims do not need to resort to costly legal action to […]

Credits: Lexology By: Max Windich, Manches LLP ‘The recent case of McGrath and MCG Productions Ltd v Dawkins and others highlights the risks run and precautions to be taken by website operators in relation to their site’s content. Uniquely, the case also opens up the possibility of website operators being held liable not only for content hosted on […]

Credits: TPMIdealLab By: Carl Franzen ‘An ongoing nationwide battle against offending online comments has taken on a political tinge in Idaho, where a local Republican party official is suing a commenter on a newspaper website and trying to force the newspaper, the Idaho Spokesman-Review, to turn over the commenter’s information, as well as the information […]

Credits: Rappler By: Reynaldo Santos, JR ‘MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives has approved a bill that will prevent and punish acts of online defamation, threats, and prostitution. Congress passed on third and final reading House Bill 5808, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which defines and punishes cybercrime to prevent its proliferation.’ […]

Credits: Huffington Post UK By Michael Rundle ‘The age of the troll could be over. Websites might be forced to unmask people who post defamatory statements online. Under new government proposals in the Defamation Bill, victims of online bullying will gain the right to discover the identity of those posting “scurrilous rumour and allegations” on […]

Credits: Time Techland By: Matt Peckham ‘Watching faceless online passerby troll bloggers or mock fellow scribblers can be a drag, but what if legislators’ answer to online ne’er-do-wells was to ban anonymous comments from websites entirely? That’s what the state of New York is planning to do in identical bills — S.6779 and A.8688 – […]

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