The Ninth Circuit last week became the first federal court of appeals to find that bloggers are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as traditional print and broadcast media when sued for defamation. Obsidian Fin. Grp. v. Cox, -- F.3d --, 2014 WL 185376 (9th Cir. Jan. 17, 2014). The court also delivered a victory to online publishers by recognizing that their use of informal and hyperbolic language reduces their exposure to libel claims because such language is often protected opinion. "
"Ruling on pre- and post-trial motions, the district court found that Padrick and Obsidian were not required to offer proof of fault—whether negligence or actual malice—nor actual damages to establish liability against Cox because Cox failed to submit “evidence suggestive of her status as a journalist,” Obsidian Fin. Grp., LLC v. Cox, No. 3:11-cv-00057-HZ, 2011 WL 5999334, at *5 (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011); Padrick and Obsidian were not public figures; and the blog post did not refer to a matter of public concern. Obsidian Fin. Grp., LLC v. Cox, No. 3:11-cv-00057-HZ, 2012 WL 1065484, at *4 -7 (D. Or. Mar. 27, 2012). Cox appealed, and Plaintiffs cross-appealed from the district court’s dismissal of the remaining blog posts."
"Obsidian is a major win for individuals who blog, share, tweet and otherwise publish their views online.
While the Court initially framed the question as “What First Amendment protections are afforded a blogger sued for defamation?” (emphasis added), its decision applies the First Amendment protections it has bestowed on “institutional media” to all “individual speakers” or “other speakers.” The Court stated that the applicability of such protections does not turn on “whether the defendant was a trained journalist, formally affiliated with traditional news entities, engaged in conflict-of-interest disclosure, went beyond just assembling others’ writings, or tried to get both sides of a story.” Under this reasoning, an individual blogger, website operator or social media users speaking publicly on the Internet enjoys the same First Amendment protections from defamation claims as traditional media publishers.
At the same time, the Ninth Circuit’s affirmance of the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claims as to most of Cox’s statements continues a judicial trend of taking the context and atmosphere of the Internet into account in distinguishing opinions from factual statements. "
" It is imperative that courts learn to view libel allegations within the unique context of the Internet.”) (quoting Sandals, 86 A.D.3d at 44)"
" It is imperative that courts learn to view libel allegations within the unique context of the Internet.”) (quoting Sandals, 86 A.D.3d at 44)"
Source of Above Quotes on Obsidian v. Cox Case and full article"