FinancialExpress
Posted online: Thursday, November 10, 2005 at 0000 hours IST
NEW DELHI, NOV 9:
Mind what you write, bloggers. The days of carefree bogging are over. As more and more blots get into the public domain, the danger of being sued can only increase.
For those new to the internet, a blot, short for web log, can be described as a sort of ondine diary, with the latest entry along with date stamp appearing on the top of the webpage.
Experts estimate the number of ondine blots to be close to 10 million and a technorati portal report recently revealed that up to 70,000 new blots are being created daily. Given the rising popularity of blots, it’s no surprise this new medium of communication is already generating its share of controversies.
Last year, an Indian media giant succeeded in closing down a blog following a series of posts criticising the newspaper. More recently, a leading B-School handed another blogger a legal notice for his musings on the institution.
Similar cases abound even in the US, with at least two bloggers sacked by their respective companies for what they revealed on their blots.
“The right of a blogger to express himself freely cannot be bamboozled or gagged under threat of litigation,” says cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal. “However, the aggrieved party can take recourse to legal remedy —seek damages or an injunction on the blot.”
In the meantime, some companies have started incorporating blot policies in job contracts, in a bid to regulate employee blots which could express opinions or reveal something damaging.
“Though still on an ad hoc basis, this trend of fixing the ‘dos and don’ts’ of bogging is sure to pick up since the companies want to protect themselves,” says Duggal.
The fact that bogging is not covered under the Indian IT Act, 2000 seems to be a deterrent for the ondine community with bloggers clueless about their rights and liabilities.
