In March 2006, The Thin Man Returns linked to an article on News.com.au that stated that Simon Binks, one time member of Australian Crawl, was planning to sue the North Sydney Council for injuries suffered in a car crash.
The report also said Mr Binks recorded an over the limit blood alcohol limit at the time of the accident.
On May 23 this year Mr Binks left two comments on our blog disputing and clarifying claims made in the article which we reproduced in part in a block quote.
In the interests of fairness Nicky and I are highlighting this update.
We have no way of verifying the identify of the poster calling himself SimonJBinks but we have no reason to doubt it. And we have no way of verifying the claims made in his comments, but in the interests of natural justice we are more than happy to host his right of reply.
What this episode does is highlight the issue regarding the laws of libel and their application in a Web 2.0 world.
As the world becomes a smaller place, it might be helpful to not only apply common sense but also to try to find an agreed upon standard that protects not only bloggers but also those who have legitmate grounds for grievance.
For more information about defamation, protecting the vitality of debate and freedom of speech on the Internet visit Electronic Frontier Foundation's Blue Ribbon project and the Australian Electronic Frontiers.
-- Nora
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