Comments on: When do tweets cross the line? Defamation lawsuit against Twitter user might cause users to think twice before tweeting.

By: Michael Anderson

Michael Anderson — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:17:42 +0000

And as always, while facts are always a refutation of libel charges, speculation or questions tend to deflect the ‘statements causing harm’ thing … if she asked “I wonder if they think it is OK’ instead of stating “they think it is ok’ it would be different.

By: Dan Cohen

Dan Cohen — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:31:45 +0000

We seem to have forgotten that tweeting isn’t like complaining to your best friend. Once you put something out there it is OUT there for the world to see. It is public! That puts it into a very different category than what she, or I in that situation, might have said to friends and family.
There is a very real danger when we are too casual (and getting more so all the time) With something that thousands or tens of thousands might see seconds after posting.

Friends don’t let friends tweet when they are angry.

By: jkj1962

jkj1962 — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:17:15 +0000

IANAL…etc

The First Amendment’s original intent was to prohibit action against individuals that spoke out against the government, and court decisions have extended to states as well but it did not address statements made about other individuals.

In any event, an individual’s “freedom of speech” only extends to the point where it causes harm to another. And even then it’s not always a criminal offense, but rather a civil one. Ms. Bonnen’s comments are aimed at injuring the realty company’s reputation, causing them harm. In my state, such statements have to be proven or one risks being sued civilally for libel and slander, and the only defense is to prove what you said is true. Had she simply stated the facts of her dispute, she would have a much better defense. Her statement is not factual, but rather purposely defamatory. Now, if she could produce correspondence from the realty company to prove they have stated what she asserts and have a chance at winning.

I sympathize with what her situation must be, and how frustrating it is, but a simple statement of facts would have served her much better, and not been libelous. She could possibly simple state that she was exaggerating due to stress.

By: Christopher Spera

Christopher Spera — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:08:32 +0000

I’m not a lawyer either, but I thought there were 1st Amendment protections for something like this.

By: Elodie

Elodie — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:40:05 +0000

I’m no lawyer, but I don’t see how a tweet is different from a blog post — and since when is it illegal to post your displeasure with a company on the internet?