Internet Company Sues Blogger for Reader Comments

Traffic-Power.com, an Internet company that advertises that it can get a website “top search engine placement”, has sued Aaron Wall, who runs a website called SEOBook.com, because of negative comments posted by readers on his blog. According to the complaint,”[a]n unidentified individual, acting alone or in concert with others, has recently misappropriated and disseminated through web sites Plaintiff’s confidential information. This information could have been obtained only through a breach of Plaintiff’s confidentiality agreement. The unauthorized use and distribution of this information violates Nevada’s trade secrets statue[sic] and has caused irreparable harm to Plaintiff.” Read more about Aaron Wall and the complaint here. Read more about the background of the suit in the Wall Street Journal online here.

Whether or not Section 230 immunity applies to Mr. Wall remains to be decided by a Nevada state court, but a legal showdown may be moot. According to his website, Mr. Wall and the Traffic-Power.com folks are already discussing an out-of-court settlement. 

Thanks to Paul Caron for alerting me to this story.