OP/ED by Benjamin & Aaronson Copyright 2010 Xcitement Magazine
NL-Daniel Aaronson & Jamie Benjamin are two long time friends of mine who also happen to be famous first amendment attorneys. Their newest column on "libel on the internet" seemed very fitting for me to run on LIB.
Many who have attended law schools will be familiar with this scenario. It may be the first day, may be the first week but at some time early on in your law school career, a professor in the front of the room gives a fact situation. It’s bazaar, it’s strange and then he or she asks the question "can Party A sue Party D?". The professor looks around the classroom, picks someone out and demands an answer. A new law student responds "of course not, because there is no reason why A should have the right to sue D". The professor immediately yells "wrong", slams down his or her fists and says remember "any body can sue anyone at any time for any reason. That doesn’t mean that A will collect from D, it just means that A can sue D".
One such way of being sued is by defaming someone. There are two types of defamation: libel, the written or printed word and slander, the spoken word. The essence of these two forms of torts is that either by the spoken or printed word somebody has been injured. Truth is a defense to both of these types of lawsuits.
Then along came the Internet. A place where anyone has the ability to publish their thoughts and to do it anonymously. It has allowed people to give their opinion, state what they believe is fact, or event to make up the most bold faced lies that they can with the feeling of impunity and that they are protected.
However, that is not the case. In fact, more and more lawsuits are occurring because of what is said or written over the Internet. And as to that anonymity, some Judges have ruled that websites have to release Internet addresses of people who posted on their websites. For years the status of the law has been that the First Amendment freedom of speech protected those who wanted to speak anonymously. Meaning specifically that pamphlets could be produced anonymously on a multitude of subjects. However, given the impact and wide range of the Internet the courts seem to be reeling in that anonymous ability to speak at least when it comes to those who are speaking anonymously on the Internet.
The Internet has changed speech and communications in a way that the law never envisioned. It has changed communications and how people communicate and what they communicate. Anyone can be an author, everyone can be a critic, and everyone can disseminate their views in a matter of seconds. No longer does it take effort and maybe even costs to voice an opinion or to defame someone, now it takes a few strokes of the keyboard and a push of the"send" button.
Further, because those opinions, those defamations, those lies are done from behind the keyboard in a closed room there is the feeling that one is not really responsible for their actions. It allows the hyperbole in the speech to go further than maybe what was intended and it takes a baseless opinion and makes it into fact. Opinion again, is not slander or liable.
Saying someone is lousy at a sport, a profession, is an opinion. Saying someone did a specific harm, or stole something is no longer an opinion, but a specific act that can make it libel or slander if it is not true. Many postings, lie between an opinion and fact and get blurred. Many postings of opinion turn into fact and that fact turns into libel and slander.
The Courts seem to be catching up with the practicalities of the Internet and its ability to allow anonymous slander and libel. The Courts seem to be taking away that anonymity and in numerous cases are requiring the disclosure of the Internet addresses of those who are slandering and libeling. The First Amendment truly protects anonymous speech.
But in actuality it protects anonymous opinion. It does not protect anonymous slander or libel and the Courts seem more and more to be following that trend when it comes to the Internet.
There’s someone I’d very much like to sue. She’s been hiding behind her control of different forums including Adult DVD Talk to spread her blatant lies about me. She might even have got her chance to do the same on a well known adultry industry radio show but that has I think been nipped in the bud. Big Red you’re a coward , a bully and a liar and you bring shame on the company you work for.
I have legal training in a couple of relevant areas. I would just like to say that there is an effective free speech defense for the posting of opinion on the internet. The tiny handful of cases where the internet service provider has been required to provide the address of their customer have not invalidated this principle.
Chris
“But in actuality it protects anonymous opinion. It does not protect anonymous slander or libel and the Courts seem more and more to be following that trend when it comes to the Internet.”
Just too bad it protects verbal abuse too.If not,I know one guy or two that would have their IP addresses exposed pretty quick.
Leslie, if you want to get to know me that badly, you don’t have to go through the legal dilemma and sell your trailer to pay for the attorney fees and find out my IP address. Instead, you can send me an email with the pictures of your tits and ass, and if I liked it and was in the mood, maybe I respond and we’ll become pen pals. Frankly, you’re not my type, so you don’t have a fat chance; but hey, you can take the shot anyway. 😉
Love is a weird, fucked up thing, and it hurts like a son of a bitch.
Jim Lane, Dan Leal and “rocker” the retard should know how costly this article can be for them.
Nice article. It is really on point. Why don’t you forward it to Darah Ford.
Did I ever write anything about you? Oh that’s right, who are you again? Still upset about what happened between me and M.S. though she started all that shit that day? Whatever I’ve said about anyone is minuscule compared to what your own industry has done and said to itself.
BEFORE any website is ordered to turn over any information about an anonymous poster, the plaintiff must FIRST prove a prima facie case of lible or slander to a judge. Not only do you ave to prove a prima facie case, you also have to prove your damages. Then, and only then, can a judge order the website to turn over information.
I could very easily say that person X id this or that, and maybe it is not true. That alone is not enough. Person X has to prove actualdamages FIRST, before any poster is identified.
Speaking of the retard Rocker, Rick, he’s the one who once called and asked me 3x in a row (unable to understand my answer, the word ‘no’), “Did you steal Jim Powers camera?” (this was at the time when I spent about $12,000 of my own money on production sets, cameras, lights, shooting talent, had no money left, was left to taking the bus, which made losers like him privy to laughing at me as I played up that “loser” role, and with the constant jokes from the poontalk editor, allowed others to laugh at me for comedic purposes for a documentary likely never to be released. I also never visited JM productions except when there with the documentary producer. I would’ve had to take the bus to do so on my own). Then the real Luke Ford aka “deepthroat” on XPT claimed I was “caught on tape” stealing the camera (even though no surveillance cameras exist). To this day it’s urban legend amongst some of the scum on that site. But as the real Luke Ford once said “Go ahead and sue me. I ain’t got nuthin'”.
Jeremy, I have to clarify something, because I’m sure of it: It was not Luke Ford who posted the false rumor about you stealing the video camera. It was the person who temporarily ran LIB before it was bought by Cindi. I know Luke, I’m in touch with him, and I can confirm that he did not post that rumor, and he had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Trust me on this.
My sources have confirmed otherwise, Colonel, but thanks. Let me just add that sometimes even successful lawsuits may never properly quantify or compensate for the damage some have done. Whatever he’s told you is as dubious as information in his books. Let me also add that, once upon a time, I was willing to go along with some shit for a purpose. At this point though so much damage to me has been done for so long that I need to start rewriting HIStory to some extent. Who “his” is is not important, but I’m sick of the abuse and collective gang-rape of my reputation for absolutely no purpose than a bunch of jackasses’ good laughs. I’ve had enough, but enough of that for now.
I’m telling you what I know, Jeremy, make of it what you wish. I just don’t see why you should have grudge against Luke Ford for something he had nothing to do with; and although Luke is far from a perfect or even sane person, but he had no reason to lie to me about this particular story. This is a man who had broken the most controversial news about some of the most powerful people in the adult industry, so I’m sure if he had anything to do with some clumsy rumor about you stealing a video camera, he would have had no problem admitting that. Perhaps considering the timeline helps: LIB was not being run by Luke between October 2007 and June 2008, and that’s when the rumor about you was posted, between October 2007 and June 2008. You can blame and even hate Luke for many things, but this is not one of them.
I understand that you’re angry at your former colleague at PoonTalk.com, and if as you say he had damaged your image and reputation for the sake of making some documentary, then you have all the reasons to be angry at him. He took advantage of you, but you should have known better, and you shouldn’t allow him to take advantage of you. Don’t ever allow that to happen again.
To make a long story really short, Colonel, Luke
fucked things up hardcore from the very beginning with me. I was a source for something about me yet he completely fucked it up and fucked it up severely. It may not all be as simple as making a fast judgement of grand enlightenment with limited information.
I think Mr. Poontalk is a big, big fan of XPT. He’s just like those guys. He gets a real kick and giggle out of fucking with select people. In his case I was his chosen Jew, while XPT picks on virtually everyone else.
At the time the XPT thing happened Luke had tried to ban me (in that BDD or JS “ban-a-thon”). He was upset at me for a few things I said. There is motive to go with what ever other fucked-up problems he has.
The documentary guy didn’t tell any lies about why I rode the bus but the poontalk guy exploited it to make me look ridiculous, without bothering to explain why. I put my full trust into someone and something for very, very good reasons, but sometimes you just don’t know in life. Over time it became an incredibly abusive and manipulative nightmare and that was never part of any deal. He thought he owned me and had a right to abuse me. It was a horrible situation but I had no idea these things would ever happen. I guess you and Christian would say “bad luck” is not a factor but I’m not so sure.
(whoops I added something which ended in the wrong area but I think I got my point across.. paragraph two above should’ve been inserted at the end.. this “amend comments” button is whacked)
Jeremy my friend, I’ll make a couple of points and then I’m done on this topic, because what you think of Luke Ford is not going to have any benefit and/or harm for me and makes no difference for me.
Jeremy Steele: Luke fucked things up hardcore from the very beginning with me.
The Colonel: Like I said, you can blame and even hate Luke for many things, but the rumor about you stealing a camera is not one of them.
Jeremy Steele: It may not all be as simple as making a fast judgment of grand enlightenment with limited information.
The Colonel: I didn’t make a judgment, I just told you what I know, make of it what you wish.
Jeremy Steele: At the time the XPT thing happened, Luke had tried to ban me (in that BDD or Jeremy Steele ban-a-thon).
The Colonel: That wasn’t Luke who tried that ban-a-thon crap, that was his temporary replacement. Hint: Ban-a-thon happened between October 2007 and June 2008, at the time Luke was not writing on LIB and had no involvement with it.
Jeremy Steele: The documentary guy didn’t tell any lies about why I rode the bus but the PoonTalk guy exploited it to make me look ridiculous, without bothering to explain why.
The Colonel: Here is the explanation: The PoonTalk guy took advantage of you, because you allowed him to take advantage of you. Don’t ever allow that to happen again.
Be careful what you do and who you trust, man, it’s a fucked up world.
Thx, Col. I’ll try harder next time.
Jeremy, I started my blog December 2007. I soon after started commenting on here because I thought this was still Luke’s site. For months, all I read here was “fake Luke, fake Luke.” Months later (2008) is when I finally found out that Luke had left porn months earlier and was now at .net because his Rabbi made him leave porn behind. I was then told an XPT moderator was the one that bought LIB from Luke. That owner then went missing for months with not a word as to what happened. Cindi then bought LIB June 2008.
The Deep Throat XPT account has been taken over many times AFTER Luke left porn. Look at the timeline that even Colonel has up – October 2007 to June 2008. Luke left in October 2007 according to his Wikipedia page (yes I know). Cindi bought LIB June 2008. You say you were banned on XPT. Well the rumored owner of LIB after Luke/before Cindi was an XPT moderator. How could Luke ban anyone on XPT when he was never a moderator?? But the rumored owner of LIB at that time was an XPT moderator. Luke was already gone from here before what you say happened. Why would Luke lie about you but admit to all the crazy shit he pulled with everyone else?
i never said i was banned on xpt darrah, what r u talkin’ about??????
also the last sentence of the first paragraph was meant somewhere else so i wasn’t talkin about you colonel, but nevermind, this thing goes haywire whenever you try to edit your comment after you send it…
The ban-a-thon Colonel talked about and “Luke” trying to ban you.
Jesus, Darrah, you just posted in comment 17 “You say you were banned on XPT”.
I never said I was banned on XPT.
Jesus Jeremy. Banned, almost banned, tried to ban you. Who cares. I’m trying to paint you a timeline so to show you it wasn’t Luke. Even Colonel says it wasn’t him. Luke left October 2007 and was rumored to have sold LIB to an XPT MODERATOR. Cindi bought LIB June 2008. It fits the timeline that Colonel and I are trying to show you.
The Camera story, that was a classic. Since it was a Jim Powers camera I think if it went missing it was cause of his second in commode, Johnny Thrust. Remember, Thrust was also the guy who was allegedly robbed by a “black guy” in a Dodgers jacket of a Bukkake payroll. As for fake Luke, you could tell Luke wasnt running the site cause it became “Judenfrei” to be crude but true. No mentions of real Luke’s fake Orthodox persona, Chaim Amielek or Jewish Girlfriend and so on. Have to check to see what Luke is up to, last memory seared into my head was that he had a long beard in some spooky looking video.
As I said, Darrah, I never said I was banned from XPT, nor did I say I was almost banned or that they tried to ban me.
For a while I went along with a joke of sorts (bus thing, etc), spread by people who came into the porn business long after me. Once upon a time I thought there’d be some gain for this jack ass persona and sacrifice of dignity but I was apparently mistaken.
Hey Jeremy; I got a Hot ,good paying shoot for you and Lucky in Miami, send me ur email to RickMadridxxx@gmail.com. And I’ll talk to u both about this one! Good Pay, First class!! ok!! Hell with Rocker…He and Dan are my BOYS..They will be dealt with along with Mr. Thrust in his Butt Johnny. I know some Colombians that want to talk to them…..hahahaha!!. But please get in touch via my email and thanks and have a good weekend.
Thx Rick.
The camera story isn’t the worst thing that anyone has said about you. So why do you care that much? And considering what company we’re talking about, you shouldn’t care that much and not get so angry about it. No one believed Johnny Thrust two years ago when he said he was robbed. All I was trying to say was the timeline Colonel put out is true about how it couldn’t have been Luke because he was already gone when all of that was happening during that timeline.
The point Darrah without arguing with you is that, regarding the title of this thread, I think the specific case of someone lying on the internet and claiming that I was caught on tape stealing something should lead to the person having made that claim (“deepthroat”) being sued, or maybe arrested or maybe beaten, or maybe all of the above. I don’t know. What do you think?
(btw, Cindi, why are the times of all posts always PM and never AM? I guess it’s not important)
Jeremy, there are dozens of ways to ID someone online, the easiest for those with a few bucks to spare being to hire someone else. In terms of suing, “Joe Knows” posts part of the trouble earlier in the thread, the rest being that state laws vary, the likelihood of recovering anything from some chump living in his family basement being pitiful, and the ability to prove damage to reputation absurdly unlikely. You’d have better luck going after content pirates stationed in Russia than proving such damages in court unless you just have a bunch of money to piss away on a vanity project.
If you are really interested in messing with someone over a perceived slight, hurt ego, or other whimsical matter arising from such comments, there are scores of ways to do so on the cheap. Many of them are illegal, especially in the People’s Republic of California, but living well is always the best revenge.
Thanks Don. I am aware of a few of the things you mentioned.
Thanks Jeremy; I am also aware of a few things you told me! Ohh Cindi is treating us all to Dinner in Ft. Lauderdale when we go down to shoot this month. Ok Jeremy, She’s right there. Good set publicity.