Legal Question in Technology Law in New York

Re: The Case of the Bad Dentist

1. You are not obligated to remove the posts. However, if the posts go beyond merely describing bad experiences, and are, in fact, defamatory, you face the possibility that you will be sued for libel.

Though you may have a good defense, grounded in law that gives some immunity to those who host online systems, it's not clear that you are simply a passive host (you say that you "manage" the forum). And even if you have a good defense, the cost to you of defending a libel action could be substantial.

All that having been said, the real question is just how bad the posts are. Without reviewing the specific posts, it's hard to judge just what your actual risk may be.

2. You are certainly not obligated to remove the response e-mail, unless your terms of use says otherwise.

Re: The Case of the Bad Dentist

Your terms of use should address the issues of acceptable/unacceptable postings and recourse to the members of your forum (if any) with respect to removal of unacceptable posts. Yes, depending on the degree of your involvement in managing the discussion board, you may have some (vicarious) liability for defamation by one member against another, but the solution lies in the following proactive measures you should consider taking:

1. putting up clear Terms of Use addressing what is/is not acceptable and procedures for dealing with unacceptable member behavior

2. providing certain disclaimers with respect to you as the website owner/operator

3. purchasing internet liability insurance.

Consult an Internet attorney to review your site and advise on how best to maximize your legal protection against litigation.

The above reply is in the nature of general information, is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such.