That ever unpredictable 9th Circuit has assisted the blogging community. As summarized by the FindLaw Corporate Counsel Center - TECHNOLOGY newsletter, the Court had this to say:
BATZEL v. SMITH, No. 01-56380, 01-56556 (9th Circuit, June 24, 2003) A service provider or user is immune from liability under [47 USC] ยง 230(c)(1) when a third person or entity that created or developed the information in question, furnished it to the provider or user under circumstances in which a reasonable person in the position of the service provider or user would conclude that the information was provided for publication on the Internet or other "interactive computer service."Bloggers, clearly, what this case appears to say is that as long as you do not completely originate the item and as long as you fairly and accurately represent what has already been published, you have immunity in any suit for damages resulting from defamation with regard to such item. Please do not consider this to be legal advice, however, and feel free to interpret the Court's Opinion for yourself. Posted by Tiger at July 1, 2003 08:29 PM