Retuers: Calif. Lawyer Sues Yahoo Over Message-Board Posts
A California lawyer who has waged an ongoing battle with Yahoo Inc. over personal attacks made against him on Yahoo message boards has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the company.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday by associates of corporate attorney Stephen Galton, claims Yahoo has unfairly protected people who post negative messages on its bulletin boards and falsely advertised that it prevents such abusive messages.
A class action suit?
While this action is governed by California law, note that under Federal law, the ISP safe harbor in 47 U.S.C. §230 would probably protect Yahoo! from liability for defamation. The safe harbor provision essentially exempts internet service providers from liability for content posted by third parties, even if the ISP acts with some level of control. See Zeran v. America Online and Blumenthal v. Drudge.
