Blogger Status Fails to Provide Journalistic Protection under N.J. Shield Law By Ian B. Brooks – Edited by Amanda Rice Too Much Media, LLC v. Hale, Case No. MON-L-2736-08, (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. June 30, 2009) Slip Opinion The Monmouth County Superior Court of New Jersey held that the Defendant, blogger Shellee Hale, was not entitled to the protections of a newsperson under New Jersey’s Shield Law. Although Hale claimed that her posts on an Internet message board were ... Read More...

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Considers Internet Service Provider’s Liability for Fake Profiles By Ezra Pinsky – Edited by Dmitriy Tishyevich Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc., May 7, 2009, No. 05-36189. Slip Opinion On May 7th, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court’s 12(b)(6) dismissal of a complaint which had sought to impose negligence liability on Yahoo for hosting a fraudulent personals profile created by the plaintiff’s ex-boyfriend, despite plaintiff’s ... Read More...

Maryland’s Highest Court Adopts Dendrite Standard for Unmasking Anonymous Forum Posters in Defamation Actions By Evan Kubota –- Edited by Miriam Weiler Independent Newspapers, Inc. v. Brodie Court of Appeals of Maryland, February 27, 2009, No. 63 Opinion On February 27th, the Court of Appeals of Maryland reversed a lower court’s order compelling discovery of the identities of five anonymous Internet forum posters in a defamation action. The court had granted certiorari on its own initiative.  While the court’s holding ... Read More...