Skip to content

Laurel Papworth, ChatGPT,AI Is My CoPilot course, Metaverse

  • WorkshopsExpand
    • AI is My CoPilot
    • Clubs Pubs and AI
    • AI For Executives and Senior Leaders
    • AI as Business Mentor
    • AI-Proof Your H.R. Career
    • Wine and AI
    • Microsoft 365 Copilot AI
    • Australian Institute of Management
    • 2 Day Metaverse Workshop (Foundation)
  • ZoomExpand
    • Mentoring Zoom
    • Mentoring Private Class
  • About LaurelExpand
    • About Laurel Papworth
    • KEYNOTE on ChatGPT
    • Events/Conferences on AI
    • KEYNOTE on Metaverse
    • Articles on Metaverse
    • Clients
    • Contact
    • Testimonials 2005 – Today
  • Alchemy Podcast
  • LecturesExpand
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • Articles (All)
Laurel Papworth, ChatGPT,AI Is My CoPilot course, Metaverse
Home / Court case over Wikipedia entry

Court case over Wikipedia entry

ByLaurel Papworth February 25, 2007

Defamation laws need to change. Or the courts will be swamped. Media distribution is now in the hands of everyone, and not everyone will behave themselves: Fuzzy Wikipedia Entry Leads to Zoeller LawsuitWikipedia founder Jimmy Wales declined to comment on the suit, but he said Wikipedia is no different from any Internet message board —…

Defamation laws need to change. Or the courts will be swamped. Media distribution is now in the hands of everyone, and not everyone will behave themselves:

Fuzzy Wikipedia Entry Leads to Zoeller Lawsuit
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales declined to comment on the suit, but he said Wikipedia is no different from any Internet message board — meaning objectionable comments have to be posted before they can be removed. “We try to police it pretty closely, but people do misbehave on the Internet,” said Wales, of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Pro golfer Fuzzy Zoeller is teed off over what he calls defamatory statements about him on Wikipedia Latest News about Wikipedia.

Instead of suing the popular online reference site, Zoeller is taking a swing at a Miami company. In a lawsuit filed last week in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Zoeller — suing under the name John Doe — alleged the statements were posted from a computer belonging to Josef Silny & Associates.

Josef Silny, the company’s president, expressed surprise when told this week by a Miami Herald reporter that the 1979 Masters champion was suing his company.

“I think it’s the most bizarre thing that’s ever happened in my life,” said Silny, who added he doesn’t follow golf and knows Zoeller’s name only from the sports pages. Silny’s firm evaluates foreign nationals’ educational credentials for clients such as the state of Florida.
Liability Issue

The case goes into the thorny territory of who is responsible — and can be held liable — for information posted on communal media sites such as Wikipedia.

Zoeller’s attorney, Scott D. Sheftall of Miami, said he had to sue the company because he can’t sue Wikipedia. Federal law says “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as publisher or speaker of any information provided by another.”

Read it all here. Be aware, that last paragraph re: not being a publisher, is valid in the States. In other words, don’t shoot the Post Office for the message being delivered. The U.K. is still working it through some test cases – one about the Chancellor of the Exchequer being defamed I think. I doubt that Australia has even started thinking about this – am I right? Are companies correct in asserting tough policies for how to use the internet at work? Is there anyway to gain back “control”?

Technorati Tags: Online Communities, social networks, Law, wikipedia, zoeller, golf, defamation
Post Tags: #attorney#Chancellor of the Exchequer#communal media sites#Federal law#Florida#Fuzzy Zoeller#golf#Internet message board#John Doe#Josef Silny & Associates#Law#Media distribution#Miami#Miami Herald#Miami-Dade Circuit Court#Online Communities#Online Communities#online reference site#Post Office#President#Pro golfer#reporter#Scott D. Sheftall#Silny#Social Media Australia#Social Media Australia#social networks#social networks#speaker#sports pages#St. Petersburg#United Kingdom#Wales#Wikipedia founder#Zoeller's attorney

Post navigation

Previous Previous
Pay per Post – making money from your blog
NextContinue
Expert De Jour – NewsCorp interview with Moi
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Testimonials 2005 – 2021
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

© 2025 Laurel Papworth, ChatGPT,AI Is My CoPilot course, Metaverse

pa@laurelpapworth.com
+61432684992
Mount Victoria, NSW 2786
Australia
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Linkedin
  • Workshops
    • AI is My CoPilot
    • Clubs Pubs and AI
    • AI For Executives and Senior Leaders
    • AI as Business Mentor
    • AI-Proof Your H.R. Career
    • Wine and AI
    • Microsoft 365 Copilot AI
    • Australian Institute of Management
    • 2 Day Metaverse Workshop (Foundation)
  • Zoom
    • Mentoring Zoom
    • Mentoring Private Class
  • About Laurel
    • About Laurel Papworth
    • KEYNOTE on ChatGPT
    • Events/Conferences on AI
    • KEYNOTE on Metaverse
    • Articles on Metaverse
    • Clients
    • Contact
    • Testimonials 2005 – Today
  • Alchemy Podcast
  • Lectures
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • Articles (All)