Julie Hilden on the Libel Law of the ‘Net

Julie Hilden on why the development of the Internet suggests libel law should be federal law. She says in part,

Over time, the idea that your reputation exists only — or at least primarily — where you live, or have lived, is proving more and more false. A reputation now may stand or fall with comments that are made on Facebook, or with the result of a Google search — and those comments may be made, and that search may be performed, from any State. As a result, topics — which can be used to frame searches — are increasingly important as a way of categorizing speech, while the writer’s or searcher’s location is often entirely beside the point.