Where Ignorance Is Not Bliss! Your Legal Responsibilities as a Blogger
by Misheel Chuluun
Blogging places a legal responsibility to the author despite its variety and wide range of expression. The fun of blogging to share your knowledge and experience must be tempered with an understanding of where the public risks for libel lawsuits stem from. Defamation is when someone says something false about another party (be it person or company), to person(s) other than the defamed. Libel is when the defamation is written; slander is when it is spoken (so, Podcasters beware).
You can casually write, so-and-so “company cheats its customers” and NOT be liable in exceptional cases like when the company was found guilty of multiple counts of fraud. Be certain.
However, if you are the only customer the company cheated, that you know of for certain, then you would be liable for defamation for writing the above. You may write honestly about your experiences or others’ experiences, but only if they are true. Also, in the eye of the law, it is wrongful to mislead by omission of significant details that would lead readers to another conclusion.
In other words, be smart and be honest. Don’t embellish. There may be severe consequences. “I didn’t know” would not serve in your favor.
