But whether or not people understood the joke or it’s funny is irrelevant in the context of the lawsuit. In libel, you need to prove that the guy had malicious intent. Clearly he didn’t and was just trying to be funny. People are all up in arms defending guys like Ressa and Bello for their cyber libel lawsuits when there’s wayyyyy more justification there than this one. Heck, Ressa was 100x more of an asshole when the complainant reasoned with her than Ileiad’s “Is this a threat”.
Confiado is yet another proof why cyber libel needs to be decriminalized. It’s all good when the case has merit, but it’s too open to abuse. No one should be detained just because someone got butthurt.
The point of decriminalizing it is that you don’t have to do jail time while awaiting trial. Sure you can post bail, but it’s 1) anti-poor, 2) libel is not a heinous act wherein the safety of the public is in jeopardy if the accused is allowed to wander, 3) it inconveniences the accused for something that the courts would likely trash, and thereby 4) make it prone to abuse and as a tool for harassment.
If you want to teach someone a lesson to be responsible for their actions, then the fine and/or jail time after they’re proven guilty should suffice.
But whether or not people understood the joke or it’s funny is irrelevant in the context of the lawsuit. In libel, you need to prove that the guy had malicious intent. Clearly he didn’t and was just trying to be funny. People are all up in arms defending guys like Ressa and Bello for their cyber libel lawsuits when there’s wayyyyy more justification there than this one. Heck, Ressa was 100x more of an asshole when the complainant reasoned with her than Ileiad’s “Is this a threat”.
Confiado is yet another proof why cyber libel needs to be decriminalized. It’s all good when the case has merit, but it’s too open to abuse. No one should be detained just because someone got butthurt.
i think decriminalized is a bit of stretch more like needs to be better defined
The point of decriminalizing it is that you don’t have to do jail time while awaiting trial. Sure you can post bail, but it’s 1) anti-poor, 2) libel is not a heinous act wherein the safety of the public is in jeopardy if the accused is allowed to wander, 3) it inconveniences the accused for something that the courts would likely trash, and thereby 4) make it prone to abuse and as a tool for harassment.
If you want to teach someone a lesson to be responsible for their actions, then the fine and/or jail time after they’re proven guilty should suffice.