In Barrett v. Rosenthal, the California Supreme Court concluded that the 1996 Communications Decency Act (Act) insulates Internet providers and web sites against lawsuits for the defamatory statements of others.
“No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”
In the Barrett case, the plaintiffs, two doctors, Timothy Polevoy and Stephen Barrett, operated web sites devoted to exposing health care fraud. Ilena Rosenthal, who directed Humanics Foundation for Women, posted an email on her Internet discussion site that included comments about the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs sued for defamation, arguing that Rosenthal should be responsible for posting the allegedly defaming material, along with the author of the email.
In the California Supreme Court’s majority opinion, Associate Justice Carol A. Corrigan wrote that statutory immunity served to protect online freedom of expression and to encourage self-regulation, as Congress intended.
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