ALBANY – In a case with major implications in the age of cybercommunications, the Court of Appeals yesterday held unanimously that the single publication rule applies to allegedly defamatory materials posted on the Internet. It also said Web site alterations unrelated to the offending article do not constitute republication for statute of limitations purposes.
Firth v. State, 87, presented the Court with an opportunity to apply old law to new technology – a potential problem of putting a square peg in a round hole. But the Court had little difficulty fitting age-old defamation law into new-age cyberspace. In essence, the Court reached back to and extended timeless common law principles, plus its own precedents from the early 1900s, to the Internet and reached a 7-0 consensus.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
