Editing Blog (section)

==Legal and social consequences==
{{anchor|Legal}}
Blogging can result in a range of legal liabilities and other [[unforeseen consequence]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=ETBG/2008/01/25/12/Ar01201.xml&CollName=ET_BANGALORE_ARCHIVE_2007&DOCID=108812&Keyword=%28%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3EChandu%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3EGopalakrishnan%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3Elibel%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3Eblog%29&skin=pastissues2&AppName=2&ViewMode=HTML |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318062526/http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=ETBG/2008/01/25/12/Ar01201.xml&CollName=ET_BANGALORE_ARCHIVE_2007&DOCID=108812&Keyword=%28%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3EChandu%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3EGopalakrishnan%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3Elibel%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3Eblog%29&skin=pastissues2&AppName=2&ViewMode=HTML |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 18, 2013 |title=Article Window |work=The Times of India |access-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref>

===Defamation or liability===
Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers concerning issues of [[Slander and libel|defamation or liability]]. U.S. payouts related to blogging totalled $17.4&nbsp;million by 2009; in some cases these have been covered by [[umbrella insurance]].<ref>McQueen MP. (2009). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124287328648142113 Bloggers, Beware: What You Write Can Get You Sued]. ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref> The courts have returned with mixed verdicts. [[Internet Service Provider]]s (ISPs), in general, are immune from liability for information that originates with third parties (U.S. [[Communications Decency Act]] and the EU Directive 2000/31/EC). In ''Doe v. Cahill'', the [[Delaware Supreme Court]] held that stringent standards had to be met to unmask the [[anonymous bloggers]] and also took the unusual step of dismissing the libel case itself (as unfounded under American libel law) rather than referring it back to the [[trial court]] for reconsideration.<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/delawarestatecases/266-2005.pdf Doe v. Cahill], 884 A.2d 451 (Del. 2005).</ref> In a bizarre twist, the Cahills were able to obtain the identity of John Doe, who turned out to be the person they suspected: the town's mayor, Councilman Cahill's political rival. The Cahills amended their original complaint, and the mayor settled the case rather than going to trial.

In January 2007, two prominent Malaysian political bloggers, [[Jeff Ooi]] and [[Ahirudin Attan]], were sued by a pro-government newspaper, The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Kalimullah bin Masheerul Hassan, Hishamuddin bin Aun and Brenden John [[Malaysian names#Indian names|a/l]] John Pereira over alleged defamation. The plaintiff was supported by the Malaysian government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20489|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608220312/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20489|archive-date=June 8, 2008|title=New Straits Times staffers sue two bloggers
|publisher=[[Reporters Without Borders]]|date=January 19, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> Following the suit, the Malaysian government proposed to "register" all bloggers in Malaysia to better control parties against their interests.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21606|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611025330/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21606|archive-date=June 11, 2008|title=Government plans to force bloggers to register|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|date=April 6, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> This is the first such legal case against bloggers in the country. In the United States, blogger Aaron Wall was sued by Traffic Power for [[defamation]] and publication of [[trade secrets]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Kesmodel |title=Blogger Faces Lawsuit Over Comments Posted by Readers |url=http://wsj.com/news/articles/SB112541909221726743 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=August 31, 2005 |access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> According to ''Wired'' magazine, Traffic Power had been "banned from Google for allegedly rigging search engine results."<ref>[[Wired Magazine]], [http://archive.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/09/68799?currentPage=all Legal Showdown in Search Fracas], September 8, 2005</ref> Wall and other "[[white hat (computer security)|white hat]]" [[search engine optimization]] consultants had exposed Traffic Power in what they claim was an effort to protect the public. The case was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, and Traffic Power failed to appeal within the allowed time.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Danny |url=http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060413-084431 |title=SearchEngineWatch |website=Blog.searchenginewatch.com |date=April 13, 2006 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204155628/http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060413-084431 |archive-date=February 4, 2009 }}</ref>

In 2009, [[NDTV]] issued a legal notice to Indian blogger Kunte for a blog post criticizing their coverage of the [[Mumbai attacks]].<ref name="hootbarkha">{{cite news
|title=Barkha versus blogger
|url=http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=3629&mod=1&pg=1&sectionId=6&valid=true
|work=The Hoot
|access-date=February 2, 2009}}</ref> The blogger unconditionally withdrew his post, which resulted in several Indian bloggers criticizing NDTV for trying to silence critics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abhishekarora.com/2009/02/chyetanya-kunte-vs-burkha-dutt-ndtv.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212101311/http://www.abhishekarora.com/2009/02/chyetanya-kunte-vs-burkha-dutt-ndtv.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 12, 2009 |title=Indian bloggers criticizing NDTV |website=Abhishekarora.com |date=February 8, 2009 |access-date=April 21, 2013 }}</ref>

===Employment===
Employees who blog about elements of their place of employment can begin to affect the reputation of their employer, either in a positive way, if the employee is praising the employer and its workplaces, or in a negative way, if the blogger is making negative comments about the company or its practices.

In general, attempts by employee bloggers to protect themselves by maintaining anonymity have proved ineffective.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/catherine_sanderson/2007/04/blogger_beware.html|last=Sanderson
| first=Cathrine|title=Blogger beware!|work=The Guardian|date=April 2, 2007|access-date=April 2, 2007 | location=London}}</ref> In 2009, a controversial and landmark decision by [[David Eady|The Hon. Mr Justice Eady]] refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of [[Richard Horton (blogger)|Richard Horton]]. Horton was a police officer in the United Kingdom who blogged about his job under the name "NightJack".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6509677.ece |title=Ruling on NightJack author Richard Horton kills blogger anonymity |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829142604/http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6509677.ece |archive-date=August 29, 2011}}</ref>

[[Delta Air Lines]] fired [[flight attendant]] [[Ellen Simonetti]] because she posted photographs of herself in uniform on an aeroplane and because of comments posted on her blog "Queen of Sky: Diary of a Flight Attendant" which the employer deemed inappropriate.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3974081.stm|last=Twist|first=Jo|title=US Blogger Fired by her Airline|publisher=BBC News|date=November 3, 2004|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-09-08-delta-blog_x.htm|title=Delta employee fired for blogging sues airline|work=[[USA Today]]|date=September 8, 2005|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> This case highlighted the issue of personal blogging and freedom of expression versus employer rights and responsibilities, and so it received wide media attention. Simonetti took legal action against the airline for "wrongful termination, defamation of character and lost future wages".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/03/airline_blogger_sacked/|title=Queen of the Sky gets marching orders|website=The Register|date=November 3, 2004|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> The suit was postponed while Delta was in bankruptcy proceedings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Twelfth Omnibus Claims Objection|url=http://themarketingheaven.com/Twelfth_OmnibusClaimsObjection.pdf|access-date=July 8, 2014}}</ref>

In early 2006, Erik Ringmar, a senior lecturer at the [[London School of Economics]], was ordered by the convenor of his department to "take down and destroy" his blog in which he discussed the quality of education at the school.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1766663,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|title=Lecturer's Blog Sparks Free Speech Row|date=May 3, 2006|access-date=June 5, 2008|location=London|first=Donald|last=MacLeod|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612093856/http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0%2C%2C1766663%2C00.html|archive-date=June 12, 2008|url-status=dead}} See also {{cite web |url=http://ringmar.net/forgethefootnotes/ |title=Forget the Footnotes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060413192035/http://ringmar.net/forgethefootnotes/ |archive-date=April 13, 2006 }}</ref>

Mark Jen was terminated in 2005 after 10 days of employment as an assistant product manager at Google for discussing corporate secrets on his personal blog, then called 99zeros and hosted on the Google-owned [[Blogger.com|Blogger]] service.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.cnet.com/Google-blogger-has-left-the-building/2100-1038_3-5567863.html| last=Hansen|first=Evan|publisher=CNET News|title=Google blogger has left the building|date=February 8, 2005|access-date=April 4, 2007}}</ref> He blogged about unreleased products and company finances a week before the company's earnings announcement. He was fired two days after he complied with his employer's request to remove the sensitive material from his blog.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.plaxoed.com/2005/02/11/the-official-story-straight-from-the-source/ |title=Plaxoed! » the official story, straight from the source &#91;Mark Jen's life @ Plaxo&#93; |access-date=September 10, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725003614/http://blog.plaxoed.com/2005/02/11/the-official-story-straight-from-the-source |archive-date=July 25, 2008 }}</ref>

In India, blogger Gaurav Sabnis resigned from [[IBM]] after his posts questioned the claims made by a management school.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=152721 |title=Bloggers join hands against B-school |work=The Indian Express |access-date=January 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051214164021/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=152721 |archive-date=December 14, 2005 }}</ref> [[Jessica Cutler]], aka "The Washingtonienne", blogged about her sex life while employed as a congressional assistant. After the blog was discovered and she was fired,<ref>
{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48909-2004May22.html|title=The Hill's Sex Diarist Reveals All (Well, Some)|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 23, 2004|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> she wrote a novel based on her experiences and blog: ''The Washingtonienne: A Novel''. {{as of|2006}}, Cutler is being sued by one of her former lovers in a case that could establish the extent to which bloggers are obligated to protect the privacy of their real life associates.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16366256|title= Steamy D.C. Sex Blog Scandal Heads to Court| publisher=NBC News| date=December 27, 2006 | access-date=June 5, 2008 }}</ref>

Catherine Sanderson, a.k.a. [[Petite Anglaise]], lost her job in Paris at a British accountancy firm because of blogging.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/19/france.blog/index.html?section=cnn_tech
| title=Bridget Jones Blogger Fire Fury |publisher=[[CNN]]|date=July 19, 2006|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> Although given in the blog in a fairly anonymous manner, some of the descriptions of the firm and some of its people were less than flattering. Sanderson later won a compensation claim case against the British firm, however.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/Sacked-petite-anglaise-blogger-wins-compensation-claim/2007/03/31/1174761793390.html |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | title=Sacked 'petite anglaise' blogger wins compensation claim|date=March 31, 2007|access-date=February 6, 2015}}</ref>

On the other hand, [[Penelope Trunk]] wrote an upbeat article in ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' in 2006, entitled "Blogs 'essential' to a good career".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/04/16/blogs_essential_to_a_good_career/ |title= Blogs 'essential' to a good career|work=The Boston Globe |date=April 16, 2006 |access-date=April 21, 2013 |first=Penelope |last=Trunk}}</ref> She was one of the first journalists to point out that a large portion of bloggers are professionals and that a well-written blog can help attract employers.

====Business owners====
Business owners who blog about their business can also run into legal consequences. [[Mark Cuban]], owner of the [[Dallas Mavericks]], was fined during the 2006 [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] playoffs for criticizing NBA officials on the court and in his blog.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2440355|publisher=ESPN|title=NBA fines Cuban $200K for antics on, off court|date=May 11, 2006|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref>

===Political dangers===
{{see also|Political repression of cyber-dissidents}}
Blogging can sometimes have unforeseen consequences in politically sensitive areas. In some countries, [[Internet police]] or [[secret police]] may monitor blogs and arrest blog authors or commentators. Blogs can be much harder to control than broadcast or print media because a person can create a blog whose authorship is hard to trace by using anonymity technology such as [[Tor (network)|Tor]]. As a result, [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] and [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]] regimes often seek to suppress blogs and punish those who maintain them.

In Singapore, two ethnic Chinese individuals were [[imprisoned]] under the country's [[Sedition Act (Singapore)|anti-sedition law]] for posting [[Islamophobia|anti-Muslim]] remarks in their blogs.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kierkegaard|first=Sylvia|author-link=Sylvia Kierkegaard|year=2006|doi=10.1016/j.clsr.2006.01.002|title=Blogs, lies and the doocing: The next hotbed of litigation?|journal=Computer Law & Security Report|volume=22|issue=2|page=127 |issn=0267-3649}}</ref> Egyptian blogger [[Kareem Amer]] was charged with insulting the Egyptian president [[Hosni Mubarak]] and an [[Islam]]ic [[Al-Azhar University|institution]] through his blog. It is the first time in the history of Egypt that a blogger was prosecuted. After a brief trial session that took place in [[Alexandria]], the blogger was found guilty and sentenced to prison terms of three years for insulting [[Islam]] and inciting sedition and one year for insulting Mubarak.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6385849.stm|title=Egypt blogger jailed for insult|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=February 22, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> Egyptian blogger Abdel Monem Mahmoud was arrested in April 2007 for anti-government writings in his blog. Monem is a member of the then banned [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. After the [[2011 Egyptian revolution]], the Egyptian blogger [[Maikel Nabil Sanad]] was charged with insulting the military for an article he wrote on his personal blog and sentenced to three years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/hunger-strike-egyptian-pr_n_963916.html |title=Maikel Nabil Sanad, On Hunger Strike in Egypt, Is Dying |work=HuffPost |date= September 15, 2011|access-date=December 29, 2011 |first=Saki |last=Knafo}}</ref>

After expressing opinions in his personal blog about the state of the Sudanese armed forces, [[Jan Pronk]], United Nations Special Representative for [[Sudan]], was given three days notice to leave Sudan. The Sudanese army had demanded his deportation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/10/22/sudan.darfur.un/index.html|title=Sudan expels U.N. envoy for blog|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=October 22, 2006|access-date=March 14, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = UN envoy leaves after Sudan row | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6076022.stm | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = October 23, 2006 | access-date = October 24, 2006}}</ref> In [[Myanmar]], Nay Phone Latt, a blogger, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for posting a cartoon critical of head of state [[Than Shwe]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7721271.stm | publisher=BBC News | title=Burma blogger jailed for 20 years | date=November 11, 2008 | access-date=March 26, 2010}}</ref>

===Personal safety===
{{See also|Cyberstalking|Internet homicide}}
One consequence of blogging is the possibility of online or in-person attacks or threats against the blogger, sometimes without apparent reason. In some cases, bloggers have faced [[cyberbullying]]. [[Kathy Sierra]], author of the blog "Creating Passionate Users",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://headrush.typepad.com/ |title=Headrush.typepad.com |website=Headrush.typepad.com |access-date=April 21, 2013}}</ref> was the target of threats and [[misogynistic]] insults to the point that she cancelled her keynote speech at a technology conference in San Diego, fearing for her safety.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-internet31mar31,0,4064392.story?coll=la-home-headlines | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625081401/http://www.imsafer.com/images/LAtimes_3_31_07.pdf | archive-date=June 25, 2008| title=Abuse, threats quiet bloggers' keyboards|last=Pham | first= Alex |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=March 31, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> While a blogger's anonymity is often tenuous, [[Troll (Internet)|Internet trolls]] who would attack a blogger with threats or insults can be emboldened by the anonymity of the online environment, where some users are known only by a pseudonymous "username" (e.g., "Hacker1984"). Sierra and supporters initiated an online discussion aimed at countering abusive online behaviour<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6499095.stm | title=Blog death threats spark debate |publisher=BBC News|date=March 27, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> and developed a [[Blogger's Code of Conduct]], which set out a [[code of conduct|rules for behaviour]] in the online space.