Libel chill

From dKosopedia

Libel chill tactics are attempts to exploit loopholes in libel law, especially from jurisdictions outside the United States, to intimidate political comment. There are a number of approaches to resisting it:

First - by ignoring it - may work if you have no dealings outside the US and bullies aren't powerful

Second - by dealing with it legally - see raise funds, hire lawyer

Third - by dealing with it politically - see blogger's rights, troll war, troll jihad and answer recommendation

Fourth - by dealing with it technologically - see hacking, cracking, jacking and open configuration

Jurisdictional agreements between U.S. states and Canadian provinces make it easier to enforce judgements. British Columbia libel and Ontario libel law, both of which are substantially more useful to plaintiffs than English common law or U.S. constitutional law concepts of libel, are increasingly popular with bullies and liars. In Ontario and British Columbia, unlike other jurisdiction in the English speaking world, truth is not an absolute defense against damages or costs judgements, so bullies may file SLAPP lawsuits with a reasonable expectation of achieving at least an early judgement in favour, especially if the suit is not contested. Two well known cases of this kind are P2Pnet and Crookes versus open politics yes you read that name right!! The loophole being exploited in the latter is that while California libel is very strictly defined and filing any SLAPP suit is grounds for countersuits with triple damages, a win in a BC court may enable the plaintiff to lien on assets in California even if they filed a SLAPP suit there. In summer 2006, Wayne Crookes attempted to shut down pbwiki.com debates about himself, and cited this loophole.