Read the TOU: ALL IS ONLY OUR OPINION
from ihub
"Messages posted by individuals may be misleading, deceptive, or in error. If you disagree with a posting, feel free to voice your opinion."
from yahoo
"These messages are only the opinion of the poster, are no substitute for your own research, and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose."
from SI
"Go2Net assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, currency, completeness or usefulness of information, views, opinions or advice in any material on a message board contained on this Web site. In addition, it does not endorse any opinions or recommendations posted by others. The information posted here is the responsibility of the person or persons posting the message."
from RB
"DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ
Our members strive to engage in enlightening, useful conversations about investments. You will also find lots of opinions some of them very helpful, some of them just plain wrong. In addition, members may post information that is biased, misleading or false. When it comes right down to it, you are responsible for the decisions you make about your own money. Never trust a single information resource, whether a post on this Web site or a stock tip by the water cooler."
Also read recent court rulings in relation to message board posts. They are legally considered statements of opinion only and are protected under freedom of speech.
10/18/2001 16:15 by Electronic Frontier Foundation
Seattle -- In a precedent-setting ruling on free speech in
cyberspace, a federal court in Seattle yesterday upheld the right
to speak anonymously on the Internet. U.S. District Court Judge
Thomas Zilly quashed a subpoena seeking to force an Internet
service to disclose the identity of persons who spoke
anonymously on an Internet message board. The American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) represented J. Doe, one of the anonymous speakers, in
blocking the subpoena.
The subpoena was filed by 2TheMart.com, Inc., which is currently
defending itself against a class-action lawsuit alleging the
company engaged in securities fraud. The subpoena requested
that InfoSpace turn over the identities of 23 speakers who used
pseudonyms in participating on the Silicon Investor Web site
owned by InfoSpace.
The ruling is the first of its kind nationally in a case involving
anonymous speech by a third party. The case differs from many
other Internet anonymity cases because J. Doe, who used the
pseudonym "NoGuano," is not a party to the case, and no
allegations of liability against Doe have been made. While Doe
does maintain a Silicon Investor account, Doe never made any
statements about 2TheMart, nor has Doe ever posted on Silicon
Investor's 2TheMart message board.
"This is an important ruling for free speech on the Internet. The
court recognized that you should be able to express opinions
online without having to worry your privacy will be invaded
because of a lawsuit that has nothing to do with you," said Aaron
Caplan, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, an
organization with an 80-year history of defending freedom of
speech. "You have the right to speak anonymously on an Internet
b ulletin board just as you have the right to distribute a leaflet
using a pseudonym," added Caplan. Caplan argued the case on
behalf of J. Doe before the Court.
"By ruling for Doe, Judge Zilly has sent a clear message that the
courts will not tolerate lawsuits designed to chill online speech,"
said Lauren Gelman, director of public policy for the Electronic
Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties organization working to
protect rights in the digital world. "We hope that this decision will
force companies to think twice before they issue subpoenas, and
encourage users to step forward and protect their rights if they
receive a subpoena."
The ACLU and EFF argued that the Court should adopt the same
test currently used to determine whether to compel identification
of anonymous sources of journalists or members of private
organizations. Under that test, the Court must first determine
whether the person seeking the protected private information (in
this case 2TheMart.com) has a genuine need for the information
in the context of the case and cannot discover the information any
other way. If so, the Court must then balance the harm to the
anonymous speakers against the plaintiff's need to discover the
identity of the speaker. Anonymity should be preserved unless
the identity of the anonymous person is clearly shown to be of
central importance to the case. In his ruling, Judge Zilly said that
the information sought by the subpoena clearly was not central to
the case of 2TheMart.com.
2TheMart.com was a fledgling company that intended to launch
an online auction house. After its stock price plunged in 1999, a
number of investors sued for securities fraud, alleging that the
company had misled them about its prospects. Like many
Internet start-ups, 2TheMart.com had a number of people who
chatted about the company on investor-related bulletin boards.
One of these bulletin boards was operated by Silicon Investor, a
Web site now owned by Seattle-based InfoSpace. The postings
were made under 23 different user names, including "The
Truthseeker," "Edelweiss," and "NoGuano."
J. Doe was represented by ACLU staff attorney Aaron Caplan and
Cindy Cohn, legal director for EFF. InfoSpace also submitted a
brief supporting the right of its users to speak anonymously, and
Brent Snyder of Perkins Coie argued the case before Judge Zilly
on behalf of InfoSpace.
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Just say NO to stock fraud!
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Just say NO to stock fraud!
AI
