Is it illegal...?
 
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Is it illegal to make a site about someone that is false and threatning and abusive?

By ali9931560 Asked Jun 28 2009 10:28PM
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by RC loves ice cream on Jun 28, 2009 at 10:30 pm Permalink

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In most places, yes. It can be difficult to trace the owner sometimes, but different places have different laws. Most make it illegal to spread false information about someone, and making threats (eg death threats etc) is almost universally illegal.
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by branciforte3241 on Jun 28, 2009 at 10:39 pm Permalink

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It is not a crime, but it is most likely a tort (defamation). So that depends on what your definition of 'illegal' is. The government won't come after the wrongdoer, but the wronged person can bring a libel suit against him/her.

NB: The company that provides the web hosting service is immune.

If the person who created the content on the site is pretending to be the person who is being defamed, then that may be an additional tort.
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by qwerty on Jun 28, 2009 at 10:32 pm Permalink

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sort of, you can sue for defamation if you can prove LIES are stated, and that you suffered some kind of loss to be compenstaed for
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by lizbef on Jun 28, 2009 at 10:30 pm Permalink

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it's not 'illegal' because everyone has the right of free speech. however, you have the option of suing for slander.
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Avatar lizbef Jun, 28 2009 at 10:42 PM
thanks, i couldn't think of the right word
Avatar branciforte3241 Jun, 28 2009 at 10:49 PM
The Internet really throws a wrench into the works for traditional legal mechanisms. A lot of people think that slander is spoken and libel is written, but I think it's more complex than that. I think that slander is when you are communicating a defamatory message directly to individuals, and libel is when you put the defamatory message in a place where it can be seen by the general public.
Avatar branciforte3241 Jun, 28 2009 at 10:54 PM
Or, to be a little more specific, slander is a transitory message that is delivered to the current audience and then disappears. Libel occurs in a fixed medium where the public can see it as they pass by.


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