You are in:
- Archives » 2007 » September 2007
Pulling The Plug
The plug has been pulled on several British blogs following a letter from one of London's top law firms to their web hosting company. The blogs - by Tim Ireland and former Ambassador to Uzbekhistan Craig Murray - had posted remarks about the Russian/Uzbekh billionaire, Alisher Usmanov, who is trying to buy Arsenal FC.
Iain Dale has more on the story:
"If a webhost pulls the plug on a blog or website merely because they receive a lawyer's letter from Schillings, a leading London law firm, then we all ought to be very worried indeed. So in this, at least, I find common cause with Tim Ireland. Despite the fact that a large part of his front page is taken up with wholly unjustified smears against me, I defend his right to say what he wants about me. It's called freedom of speech. And if he does it to me, why should a Russian Oligarch be any different?"
And from the other side of the political spectrum, here's Harry's Place:
"Bloggers cannot operate if they are bullied by rich plaintiffs. Defamation law in the United Kingdom is both farcical and unfair, and is in desperate need of fundamental reform. Errors on blogs can easily be remedied: particularly where they permit open commenting (a libel risk in itself) which allows postings to be criticised, facts corrected, and arguments opposed. I know what it is like to be at the receiving end of a well funded threat of defamation proceedings, and it is no fun at all. It is outrageous that the law of defamation should be used to break bloggers: like butterflies upon wheels.
"Frankly, we might as well shut up shop altogether if we do not stick together on this issue.
"For all these reasons both of them deserve our support, and we should give it to them."
Chickenyoghurt is organising the resistance.
