> Frank wrote:
> [snip]
> >It's been long accepted that for 99% of the content their >subscribers access,
> ISP's are carriers rather than publishers - and >hence not liable.
> [snip]
>
> Is that distinction made by ourselves, as users and pundits, or by the law? A
> lawyer could help here, but I seem to remember that there have been cases long
> ago where newsagents were included in the defamation net...
>
The ABA and Online Services at DCA/NOIE have accepted the distinction as I
understand it and regulation efforts will surely reflect that distinction. Thus
pragmatism is guiding their hand.
That is not to say that litigation, as and when it arises, will not attempt to
extend the net to include anyone involved in the propagation of whatever is being
litigated a la the newsagents in the printed word cases of old.
cheers
brenda
-- Brenda Aynsley - http://www.iss.net.au/bpabio.html Phone:+61 8 8357 8844 Fax:+61 8 8373 3829 Mobile:+61 412 662 988 Internet Support Services Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 069 346 327) Education, Web site development and Support Services