A FREE SPEECH VICTORY FOR BLOGS:

The blogosphere would not exist as we know it if people didn’t reprint and link to the words of others. But when those others say defamatory things, should bloggers be held legally accountable for spreading bad information?

The California Supreme Court says “no.” In a decision announced Monday, the court ruled that Internet service providers cannot be held liable for defamatory content posted by third parties.

The case itself isn’t about blogs, but it’s obviously applicable to blogs. I have to say that this outcome seems clearly right to me. The decision is here. More on the topic of blogs and Internet libel can be found here.

UPDATE: More from Eugene Volokh.