A college kid in Michigan gets sued for defamation by a car-towing company. The latter had towed away his car without reason, the kid contended on Facebook via a page titled "Katamazoo Residents against T&J Towing."
This kind of lawsuit also has a title: SLAPP or "Strategic lawsuit against public participation." And, as Dan Frosch reports in THE NEW YORK TIMES, there might be fewer SLAPPs if Congress passes a bill making it more difficult to file that kind of lawsuit. Already several states have anti-SLAPP measures.
Most First Amendment advocates would welcome that Congressional action. However, unlike college kids, most players already know how to prevent lawsuits for what they say in public about others - in any and all media. That's called the game of dirty tricks. There are many variations of it. Here are just some:
- Have some dirt on the business or individual you post about on the web. For this to be effective, they have to know that you're the type to sing like a bird. I know buttoned-down administrators in hospitals to have used this pre-web. It never failed. Those with something to lose usually don't risk losing it. The exception here is a business or individual with nothing to lose. They could be one's most unpredictable nemesis.
- Develop a reputation as a yenta who not only pries into others's affairs, professional and personal, but is an incorrigible gossip. That kind of character would strike fear in the hearts of even the scariest kinds of families in my old neighborhood in Jersey City, New Jersey. At Mother's knee we learned to avoid the yentas. Of course, no one took any action against them, not even clandestine [broken windshield] because it was assumed their network of watchers was sophisticated beyond measure. The old Hollywood gossip columnists followed this pattern.
- Have a brandname as a loose cannon. No one will be able to anticipate the next move you will make so they avoid making any move. There are many kinds of loose cannons. They could be like Tony Soprano who had a temper which could be set off instantly. They could be those who don't know fear. They could also be those who are internally wired to relish a good fight.
Those skilled in the game of dirty tricks rarely if ever get SLAPPed. That's what is so sad here: The Innocent who are using the web to express an opinion are being bullied by more experienced players. Perhaps, as a public service, those experienced in stealth action should school them about how the BigFoots share their displeasure.
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