Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 17, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A5 winnipegfreepress. com WINNIPEG WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2013 A 5 A landmark American court case could end up paying dividends for Winnipeggers who believe they've been slandered by a salacious gossip website. Brian Bowman, a Winnipeg business lawyer who specializes in privacy issues, told the Free Press his firm has already been contacted by several people who've had the dubious distinction of being featured on thedirty. com. They want to know how last week's jury verdict against " the Dirty" might affect them. " This certainly made me perk up. It's almost certainly a step in the right direction. I really want to see how this will impact Canadians," said Bowman. " Time is going to tell. We're going to be analyzing this decision in greater detail to see how it may impact the representation of our clients. I'm sure other Canadian lawyers that practise in social media law and defamation will be doing the same thing." The case in question involves a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader who won her defamation lawsuit and was awarded $ 338,000 in damages after a jury in a civil court case found posts about her on the website were false and defamatory. U. S. jurors also found website operator Nik Richie acted with " malice or reckless disregard" in allowing for the posting of anonymous submissions about Sarah Jones that claimed she had sex with the entire football team and was carrying two sexually transmitted diseases. Richie said the posters were simply abiding by their right to free speech, but jurors disagreed in a decision Jones's lawyer said could pave the way for many similar suits. Richie said he will appeal. " This website is really dedicated to allowing people to defame other people. They've escaped liability up until now," Bowman told the Free Press . He said many Winnipeg clients have been looking for a way to go after the Dirty website. A search of the Arizona- based website shows Winnipeg is one of 22 featured Canadian cities. There are hundreds of local men and women included on the local site, with thousands of mostly anonymous comments stemming from the posts. Pictures of the subjects are often included and the material is blunt. " She is the biggest junkie around who does c* ke and pills in front of her inbred kid," reads one recent post about a young Winnipeg woman. " This fall- down mother can't take care of her kids ( cause) she's passed out drunk or trying to break into her parents house to steal more booze," claims another. " This girl ends up having a new boyfriend every week and I found out from her exes that she always cheats and when she sleeps with other guys she never uses a condom!" screams a third. There are numerous similar examples filling the pages. Some of the additional comments are even more biting and include racial slurs. " People are being harmed by it. We have spoken with local clients who know people are using this website because it's a safe haven for defamatory content," said Bowman. And while finding the anonymous posters may be next to impossible, last week's decision opens the door to go directly after the website owner. Richie's lawyer, David Gingras, argued at trial the website is protected under the U. S. federal Communications Decency Act. Part of that law was intended to provide immunity to website publishers from liability for content that comes from third parties. Gingras argued holding Richie responsible for posts created by a third party would have a negative effect on free speech for other people and other websites. Jones's attorney, Eric Deters, told jurors they could help put an end to cyberbullying by awarding damages that would send a message to Richie and others they should be careful about what they post. Jones also had said she hopes the jury would award damages large enough to force the website to shut down to prevent other people from being hurt by it. www. mikeoncrime. com - with files from The Associated Press WE FIX BROKEN SMARTPHONES ALL MAKES, ALL MODELS FROM $ 99 CRACKED SCREEN? 204.788.0900 620 KING EDWARD cdccomputer. com 1200 Waverley Street Unit 9 ( corner of Mcgillivray) Tel. 204- 951- 6887 www. healthmedica. ca Insurance, MPI, WCB accepted. Direct Billing A Better you! Locations Across Canada Chiropractic, Ma s sag e , Spi nal D ec o mpr essi on, L as e r H air Removal , S kin Tig h ten ing, M icr o dermabr a sion, A t h le t ic T h e r a p y, Custo m O r t ho t ic s, Fac ials a nd m or e . . . LET US PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE! 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Defamation suit against website gives locals hope ' The Dirty' owner ordered to pay By Mike McIntyre ' This website is really dedicated to allowing people to defame other people. They've escaped liability up until now' - Winnipeg lawyer Brian Bowman N OT in our town, Chris Brown. That's the message Kelcy Beirnes hopes to get across to the promoter involved in bringing the controversial American singer to Winnipeg next month. Taking a cue from a grassroots effort in Halifax, which saw an online anti- Brown petition surpass 11,000 signatures and four corporate sponsors pull out of Brown's appearance there next month, Beirnes started her own petition on Change. org Monday, asking promoters of the Energy Rush tour to shelve the Aug. 29 show at MTS Centre. " It's a really shameful thing for us to be having this concert here," Beirnes said Tuesday. " Of all the artists we could have brought in we have to hire somebody who is a terrible role model. We're rewarding terrible behaviour and we're bringing a criminal into our country." Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting his then- girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. The incident, which saw Brown hit and choke his fellow pop star during an argument in Los Angeles, drew attention to violence against women and created a public- relations nightmare for Brown - one he hasn't been able to pull out of due to continued run- ins with the law. The controversy surrounding Brown hasn't hurt the popularity of his music, though. His last two full- length albums, F. A. M. E. ( released in 2011) and Fortune ( 2012) both reached the top of the Billboard charts. His new album X is set for release later this summer. Susie Parker is also not down with Brown coming to Winnipeg, as she's in the planning stages of a benefit at Academy Lanes to raise money for Osborne House - a local women's shelter and victims of domestic abuse - on the same night as the concert. The event is not organized by Osborne House. " We're just trying to take money out of Chris Brown's hands and give it to Osborne House," Parker said of the event, called Loving Hands Don't Hit. " I used to be a Chris Brown fan, but as a woman with a conscious, I just can't support him anymore." Stephen Tobin, owner of Drop Entertainment Group and promoter of the three- stop Canadian Energy Rush concert series ( Brown is the headline act), identified support for the show in Winnipeg as " nothing short of electric and overwhelmingly positive." " In no way do we condone Chris Brown's past behaviour or personal endeavours. We are purely focused on his music, incredible talent and overall popularity. I believe it is a very slippery slope when we start trying to censor or dictate who can or cannot perform." True North Sports and Entertainment, which is housing the show at MTS Centre, is sympathetic to the sensitivities regarding Brown but is not considering cancelling the show. It will let people make their own moral determination on the R& B singer. " If Chris Brown is legally able to come into the country and play a show, we are into a contract with the promoter that we will honour," offered TNSE spokesman Scott Brown ( no relation). " As with any show we put on, people can decide whether or not to support it by purchasing a ticket. And if they choose to express their opinion the night of the show, as long as they do so in a respectful manner and not interfere with the people that have chosen to go to the show, then they're entitled to do that as well." Beirnes hopes her petition, which is addressed to Energy 106 ( the local radio station promoting the show) and Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, finds similar traction as the one in Halifax. Four corporate sponsors - including Rogers and Molson Canadian - have pulled out of the Energy Rush tour. Beirnes implores those planning to attend the Brown show to reconsider. " This is a guy who beat his girlfriend to the point where you couldn't recognize her," she said. " It's disgusting that he's coming here and I hope parents think twice about allowing their children to support this guy." The petition is at www. change. org/ energyrushwinnipeg. adam. wazny@ freepress. mb. ca Dump Brown: activist Petition seeks to have singer's show cancelled By Adam Wazny THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES Sarah Jones won her defamation suit. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kelcy Beirnes wants promoters to dump Chris Brown's concert at the MTS Centre Aug. 29. The promoter balks at the suggestion. A_ 05_ Jul- 17- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A5 7/ 16/ 13 9: 21: 32 PM ;