Libel Case Against Abe Olandres
I was over at The Blog Herald, and it looks like Abe Olandres is facing a Libel suit against him. Combine the lawsuit with personal problems and Abe has been swamped to the extent that he has asked Tony Hung to take over the helm as editor. Here’s how Abe describes his legal problem at the moment,
I run a fairly small start-up web hosting here in the Philippines. One of our former clients runs a forum that we used to host. Several members of that forum were throwing vindictives against a their former employer. That employer sent us a demand letter thru their law firm demanding that we terminate the site or be charged with libel as well. The client moved out from us the following day. However, the employer/complainant has now filed several libel law suits against us claiming that we are the owner of the domain and the operator of the site. The site is still up and running though hosted somewhere else, the domain was also transferred away from us. Still, the complainant is alleging we should have enforced some sort of regulations or control over the content when it was still with us.
This is totally absurd, and I am fairly sure that this will get thrown out. If you want a comparison, I can compare it to renting an apartment. A renter is doing drugs in his apartment, the cops are aware of the situation, so they decide to arrest the landlord. Obviously, you are supposed to arrest the people who rent the apartment. Idiots!
This is a similar case, but only in a technology case. If the company wishes to file a libel case, then they should file it against the people who ran the forum.
If anyone has suggestions on this case, you can direct it to Abe and contact him through his personal site. If you can recommend a lawyer that is good with cases of this nature, then by all means try helping a fellow blogger out…
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In the US, they have common carrier laws, which say that utilities cannot be held liable for crimes committed by their users. To add to your analogy, it’s like arresting the owner of a telephone company if someone complains of receiving death threats via phone.
Anyway, here’s to Abe. I hope the campaign proves to be helpful. It can happen to any one of us.
Jangelo, great comment, I love the analogy… and I hope it dawns on the presiding judge just how stupid the company is in trying to bring a case against the owner of a hosting company. I doubt the company would’ve tried to make a case if it were Yahoo.com….
[…] Poor Abe Olandres is facing a libel suit. Time may be nearing for bloggers to rally around him. […]
Wasn’t there a recent US Supreme Court decision that said that a blogger cannot be sued of libel? I believe CNN even carried the news last November.
Its pure stupidity to sue the host for a guest’s behavior. The cops don’t arrest the bar owner when there’s a brawl in his bar, they apprehend the perpetrators.
@Schumey,
you’re definitely correct, there are a number of cases that protect the blogger. This situation is slightly different, because it’s a hosting company, but it is still within the realm of that decision. This case has no legs for sure, but a good decision to scrap the suit will definitely be good for all Filipino bloggers and hosting companies.
Excellent analogy as well, last I’ve seen, no bar owners were ever arrested of such an incident.
You don’t arrest the hotel owners when tenants get shot in his building.
Is there a site that would reference to the running forum ?
[…] Disclaimer : This piece is a bit ‘casual’ compared to the other blogs that are deep serious. However this type of issue is still something to be handled nice & professional. Also, I share the same sentiment since me and a couple of people are also involve in a small start up hosting biz.Ive been hopping blogs reading stuff that this good man ‘Abe’ of yugatech.com has been facing a FUNNY case of libel : (here’s from abe, quoted from tingog.com) I run a fairly small start-up web hosting here in the Philippines. One of our former clients runs a forum that we used to host. Several members of that forum were throwing vindictives against a their former employer. That employer sent us a demand letter thru their law firm demanding that we terminate the site or be charged with libel as well. The client moved out from us the following day. However, the employer/complainant has now filed several libel law suits against us claiming that we are the owner of the domain and the operator of the site. The site is still up and running though hosted somewhere else, the domain was also transferred away from us. Still, the complainant is alleging we should have enforced some sort of regulations or control over the content when it was still with us. […]
Is it the one about epixtar, that a forum claimed that epixtar is losing money?
@Poell, This topic isn’t being discussed in a specific forum, but I will do my best to update everyone if there is other mentions of this case in other blogs.
@Joseph, thanks for the info, I wasn’t sure which specific case it was because there’s been a slew of them in every part of the world. As forums and blogs become viable, more and more companies are trying to suppress freedom of speech.
The root here: http://www.pinoytechblog.com/archives/ibm-in-epixtar-out
@Joseph, thank you for the link!
[…] Nick’s Tingog.com […]
[…] Nick’s Tingog.com […]
[…] So, Yuga is sued just because his hosting company, “Ploghost“, hosted a site which contains libelous materials. Well, I don’t have enough knowledge on the laws of the Philippines related to internet, but I am wondering if a company hosting a clients site is also liable for the content of the site. And I think, Tingog has a better idea about it: This is totally absurd, and I am fairly sure that this will get thrown out. If you want a comparison, I can compare it to renting an apartment. A renter is doing drugs in his apartment, the cops are aware of the situation, so they decide to arrest the landlord. Obviously, you are supposed to arrest the people who rent the apartment. Idiots! […]
Hi,
Can anyone please tell me the right or wrong answer(s) to this
very simple questions ???
In Canada,if the dog bites you - you can sue the dog owner eh?
In the Philippines,if the dog bites you - do you bite the dog too?
In Canada,dogs had to be registered and vaccinated eh?
In the Philippines,lots of dogs are “self-supporting”and have rabies?
In Canada,dogs are normally treated like “human beings”with animal
rights,(dog hospital,veterinarian visits,dog groomers,dog “clothings”,dog foods,dog exercise(walking),dog lease,
dog pooh scooping,dog vitamins,etc;and most of all the SPCA(society
for the prevention of cruelty to animals).
In the Philippines,dogs are fond of barking(like jeepneys blowing
their horns)and biting.
In Canada,dogs are not fond of barking but are fond of the mailman.
(they bite them,like in Vancouver,b.c.).
Well,let’s just remember that the PRICE of freedom is responsibility
as your freedom ENDS where your neighbors nose BEGINS eh???
Good Day .
I found your blog via Google while searching for dog grooming and your post regarding ase Against Abe Olandres | Tingog.com | The Voice of The Filipino looks very interesting for me
I think they should give Abe a break since it’s really something that could be settled amicably. Yeah the analogy about dogs are great but common you don’t see one hitching the internet and crossing out multitudes of information through it right? So yeah he’s the owner but they will still have to take specifications on who’s really to blame for some issue that’s not even widely publicized.It’s like pointing your fingers blank just so that one can feel better upon knowing another person out there is persecuted somehow.
Good luck with Abe and our internet laws here.