I seem to remember a discussion somewhere when the web first
got really established saying that any one of three existing media
could be used as a model, one being a sort of hard case, one soft
and one intermediate:
1 (hard) It's like a publisher: legally responsible for anything it
publishes. It should therefore indemnify itself against any of its
clients getting it into trouble. AN internet provider could do this by
getting you to "sign" something when they give you access/storage
space.
2.(middle) I cant remember - anyone any ideas? I think it involved a
distinction between knowingly handling something or not. We had
a case here many years a go where some students received some
moderately obscene jokes and forwarded them to their mates. A
law enforcement officer at another location wanted us to do
something about it. While it was clear that forwarding the material
was naughty (and the "culprits" had their wrists smacked), there
was some question about whether we were also liable for storing it.
3. (soft) Like the post (mail) or the telephone: The company is not
legally responsible for what it carries; if something illegal is sent it
is the sender who has committed an offence.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jun 17 2003 - 17:43:03 MET DST