I have started a new blog, Theraputic more than anything, with the aim of myself and surfers to be able to post and have a rant about any bad service, annoying and stupid laws etc, rip off companies, poor customer service etc I then started to think...even if you have proof that a company is bad or that company x does this to its customers, and charge x...am I going to run in to legal problems if I name and shame that company do you think? I am careful to only include actual companys/ banks etc that have bad policies, and that the evidence for what I am saying is correct and provable Who has any advice on this? I am not sure if I am allowed to post the url, I am new to the forum Thanks
Freedom of speech is legal, however, it's not a shield against lawsuits. For example, you could say that Company X ripped you off, which is legal to do. However, Company X can sue you for defamation. If you have proof of your allegation, your lawyer (unless you are in small claims) can present your case to the court.
If what you say is true, I don't think you can be held for slander or libel. However, if what you say goes beyond just the facts (i.e. includes your own negative opinions), then you may still be held accountable for slander or libel based on that defamation that want beyond the hard facts. I'm not a lawyer, though. Take what I say with a grain a salt.
It's a shame you can't rant about a company and tell people how crap they are when they are actually crap - I had a problem with a large organisation, that I blogged about, because I was receiving tons of complaints about them, and the blog entry was 2nd in Google - with the companies website 1st in Google. They sent a letter to my host, who threatened to take the blog down if I didn't withdraw the blog entry, so I contacted all of the people who complained and asked them to back me up if I let it continue, but none of them would because they were afraid of being sued. So I took the content down
Yes, watch out for defamation, also if something does arise...hopefully it wont, don't add things to the pile of complaints like "my cashier was really rude and nasty too" because they will ask why you didn't file a complaint or leave a comment/suggestion (If they have a service available). Just be honest, and don't be threatened by laywers.
You also have more strict laws in England when it comes to this stuff. This post is a good example of how what's "legal" is not as important as what you can defend against. Since you don't own the network your site is on, you need to abide by their rules. It's the same on TV. If you had a show on NBC, you need to go by their rules. Perhaps your show talks about how Company X is crap, but Company X is an advertiser on NBC. Guess who has to rescind their statements or find a new network? (hint: you)
Thank you all for your input-Seems we all only live in a free country or are able to have freedom of speech if it dosent indanger big business.lol Well, hmm I'm still going ahead and treading carefully....so we will see
It also protects you. What if M$oft decided to smear your company? They could get thousands of people to post their complaints about you personally, your company, your products, etc. How would you feel about free speach then?
I had no intention of being rotten to any genuinly good business, only posting and providing a forum for enabling 'Rip off' companies, (with proof of this of course) to be named. I think its a shame that bad companies get away with whatever they want all the time...don't you? There are drug companies for example that perform illegal drug test on poor people in countires with no laws protecting them. Baby milk companies who convince mothers in 3rd world countries that they need their expensive baby milk when all they have to make the formula with is dirty water (This causes the death's of thousands of babies...right down to ulitity companies that cut of peoples vital services due to an admin error...Why should services and companies 'get away with this kind of thing and every one be too afraid to comment? If I had a company, and was being unethical or behaving badly, treating people appalingly or ripping anyone off and/ or braking the law..I would expect people to complain.
If you are to have a site like this you will attract a lot of attention from companies. John Scott over at V7N was hit with a legal notice from a hosting company because someone started a thread calling them scammers - John locked the thread until he got legal advice although I am not sure if it is still on-going or if the thread was deleted. The funny thing was the thread ranked #2 on Google for the hosting name with 'scammers' in the title. Ireland biggest forum is currently being sued by a music event organiser because members had been complaining in a thread on how a large outdoor event was handled by the organiser. The thread was locked and an official notice was posted - the legal case is still on-going. There was also a website called Dell Hell a few years back that had readers posting their complaints about Dell, as far as I know that site was pulled by Dell (cant say for sure though). I totally disagree that a site can be shut done because people shared their bad experience with others. People should be allowed to speak up about companies that provide bad service either to warn others on being ripped off or to prove to a company they need to clean up their act. I wonder how DP Shawn handles these types of issues or if he gets any at all.
Legal issues are a huge problem for forum owners, and you have to make a decision at the outset on how you are going to handle things. The trouble with the web is its lack of accountability, in other words the ease with which people can assume a false identity. Secondly, you won't be in a position to research the truth on all the allegations that are made. I had some similar trouble on one of my forums, and eventually decided to remove all posts that were about specific companies. This is draconian, I know, but I just don't have the time to deal with all the legal problems that arise. Don't expect your users to appreciate this at all, or to share your misgivings about breaking the law and libelling people. I think you've got this wrong. If it's your own subjective opinion, you are entitled to publish it and there's nothing anyone can do to stop you. For example, you can say that Company X gives you the creeps, or you find their customer service staff to be cold and unfriendly. That's just your opinion. What you can't do is state any negative fact that you can't prove. Because even if your allegation is true, the burden of proof will be on the accuser in a libel case.
In the USA (maybe England too?), freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences. For instance, you can run out into public and shout "F you son of a B. Mother F Mother F I hate Fing DP posters." That's your right. However, the jurisdiction you are in may have a law against public profanity. If so, you could potentially be charged. (It's always a misdemeanor) Since when? If you put up a website saying, for instance, that Company X did this or that and they sue you, guess who needs to prove that the speech was truthful--you do.
Thank you all for your input I will have to think long and hard about each and every post and be extremly careful to ensure anything I put is backed up buy hard evidence also.
Oops, that's what I meant. The burden of proof is on the person who accuses the company or individual of whatever wrongdoing. I didn't mean it's up to the libelled party, but I guess that came out wrong. Okay, if we're being pedantic: nobody can do anything to stop you via the law, so long as you aren't breaking any other laws such as copyright, obscenity, the official secrets act, etc etc, with your remarks. They could always send the goons round to rough you up if they wanted.
Pm sent dre, funny thing that...I have already had 4 people contact me about a certain arcade script company and their poor /non existant service....bet you will give me the name as everyone else. These companies should not be able to get away with it at all....
What about the reviews on Amazon? I don't understand why wouldn't you be allowed to express bad experience... Or is it different because they potentially only blame a specific product/service as opposed to the whole company?
well after reading this i see i better watch what i say because i did say some things about a few companies but they were true and it really did happen to me.
Yea same in the UK you have the right to go down the street at shout "i hate you f*cking n*ggers" aslong as its personal opinion and not inciting racial hatred its legal, accept a) you might not live very long after b) you will be arrested fro another crime such as breach of the peace etc.