Forum Liability

[ScottLott]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon
Hello, I am the owner of an Remote Control Airplane business. On my businesses website we run a community forum. In that forum, users are free to speak about their experiences with other businesses, models, etc, etc.

I was recently contacted by another(UK based) remote control airplane company who found comments on our forum made by a forum user claiming his business has poor customer service. They requested written proof of the claims within 14 days are to have the offending posts removed. The penalty, they claim, for doing neither: legal action against my company.

I don't want to remove one of my user's comments for the same reason I don't remove comments when they are attacking me personally: it's called censorship and it looks really bad to the community.

What are my rights as a business owner and what kind of legal action is the other company even capable of pursuing?

For reference, here are the offending remarks:
"I got mine(r/c airplane) from (UK based r/c airplane business website). However i would not reccomend them as their customer service is really bad as you can only communicate by email and they take 1-2 weeks to reply."
and:
"I would definatly recommend getting one(R/c Airplane). I got mine from (UK based r/c airplane business website) but they don't have the best customer service if it breaks..."

Thanks!

 

[quincy]

First, you, as the website owner, would not be held liable for the comments made by the users to your site, this based on the U.S. Communications Decency Act's Section 230, unless you contributed to the writing of the comments. The only one that could be held liable would be the writer of the comments.

Second, the U.K.-based company would need to sue the writer of the comments under U.S. defamation law in a U.S court. He cannot compel the writer to travel to the U.K. to be sued.

Third, in order to identify an anonymous user on a forum, the U.K.-based business would have to seek a court order from a U.S. court that would be issued to your site, ordering you to reveal the identity of the poster.

Fourth, in order for a U.S. court to issue such an order, the U.K.-based business would have to provide evidence to the U.S. court that they have a suit with merit. If evidence presented is not enough to support an action, the U.S. court will not issue an order.

Fifth, the comments you show here are not defamatory. They are perfectly legal comments and criticisms based on personal experiences with the U.K. company. They are protected speech.

Therefore, you can tell the U.K.-based company to pound sand.

You could consult with an attorney in your area to review all of the facts and details but, based ONLY on what you have posted here (and without having seen the website in question), I see no successful action the U.K. company could take in the U.S. against either you, your business, or those who contributed to your site with those forum comments.

 

[Hot Topic]

Quincy is the best poster to help you.

 

[quincy]

Thanks, Hot Topic! That was nice.

 

[ScottLott]

Thanks a million, Quincy! I had assumed the law was in my favor but wanted to be sure before I moved forward. Once again, thank you!

 

[quincy]

You're welcome, ScottLott.

As a note, I suppose I should add that even someone with NO good legal basis for a suit can still sue. I doubt if someone from the U.K. will attempt a meritless suit here in the U.S. due to the high costs involved and no chance for damages being awarded to offset those costs, but it is always a remote possibility.

In addition, it is always wise to consult with an attorney in your own area, for a review of ALL of the facts, to be sure of your legal position. We must base our advice here on a very limited amount of information. You should consider all advice offered on this site with these limitations in mind.

Good luck with your remote control airplane business.