1. Online Legal and Ethical Issues

2. Overview Issues of responsibility for libel, obscenity and indecency
Aspects of copyright
Issues involved in user agreement contracts
Legal and ethical issues of linking
Ethics of writing blogs

3. Libel Libel—publication of false information that is defamatory
Statements contained in Web pages, chat rooms or discussion boards are considered subject to libel suits
Who is held accountable for libel?

4. Forum Shopping
A U.S. news organization that publishes a Web site could be sued for libel by a country located half way around the world

5. Obscenity and Indecency
Communications Decency Act of 1996—sought to apply strict indecency standards to Internet
Supreme Court has ruled that the Internet should not be regulated as strictly as television broadcasts
Attempts to restrict indecent material on the Internet violated the First Amendment

6. Copyright
Copyright law protects Web pages, s and postings to discussion groups
Such items are recognized by law as being the property of their authors
Fair use—allows others to use part of a copyrighted work in certain situations

7. Copyright and the Internet
No previous medium has made it so easy to copy its content
Napster—most famous Internet copyright case
Journalists should generally assume that everything on the Internet is copyrighted, unless it is expressly offered for public domain use (e.g., some government sites)

8. User Agreements
Nearly every journalism site has a set of rules in which they set conditions for the use of the site
In some cases, user agreements are restrictive and could damage free flow of information

9. Linking Law
Legal issues with linking involve copyright and unfair competition
Deep linking
Inline linking
Framing
Associative linking
Linking to illegal or infringing material

10. Ethical Issues—Linking
Will the link promote controversial points of view?
Are different points of view presented fairly and are they well balanced?
Are editorial and advertising content clearly separated?