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The Communications Decency Act<ref>47 U.S.C. §230(c)(1)</ref> protects internet service providers (ISP) and websites by mandating that they are not "publishers" or "speakers" for purposes of secondary liability. They cannot be held secondarily liable even if the plaintiff showed "actual malice" against the victim of the slander. Accordingly, websites are almost never responsible for the postings by their users.
The Communications Decency Act<ref>47 U.S.C. §230(c)(1)</ref> protects internet service providers (ISP) and websites by mandating that they are not "publishers" or "speakers" for purposes of secondary liability. They cannot be held secondarily liable even if the plaintiff showed "actual malice" against the victim of the slander. Accordingly, websites are almost never responsible for the postings by their users.
==Examples==
# Propaganda filmmaker [[Michael Moore]] comments ''"Democrats should not engage in “sewer [[swimming]]” — lowering themselves to [[Republican]] levels"'' in reference to [[GOP]] VP nominee [[Sarah Palin]]. Just days earlier, Moore had posted fraudulent gossip, bashing Sarah Palin on his Web site. <ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/michael_moore_backpedals/2008/09/03/127339.html Michael Moore Slams Palin, Then Backpedals] NewsMax, September 3, 2008</ref>
#During his Cafferty File segment on [[CNN]]'s Jack Cafferty asked viewers: "Should Republicans stop listening to [[Rush Limbaugh]]?" Cafferty referred to the radio host as "that gasbag Limbaugh,<ref>["http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2008/12/15/cafferty-slams-gasbag-limbaugh-reads-e-mail-comparing-rush-hannity-kk]</ref> while referencing comments made by [[Colin Powell]] during an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.<ref>[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/11/powell-gop-polarization-backfired-in-election/]</ref> While reading viewer emails after the initial set-up, all of which were anti-Limbaugh, he relayed a very serious charge from "Connie in Chicago." Cafferty read: "Yes! Limbaugh is a far-right agitator of the worst sort with a 1950's mentality of what values 21st century America should reflect. I expect him and other like-minded Sean Hannity's of the world to step out of their closet and display their white sheets and dunce caps. Limbaugh is a bad joke."
See also: [[Slander (book)]]
See also: [[Slander (book)]]