Yahoo! Finance message board/posters sued.
"...A publicly traded Internet company in Portland, Oregon, is suing 100 "John Does" for allegedly posting inaccurate and defamatory statements about the firm on a Yahoo Finance message board.
Earlier this year, numerous messages posted on the Net's leading portal site criticized ITEX, which operates an online trade center that lets users buy goods and services with cash or through a barter system.
One Yahoo visitor called the company's management "blind, stupid, and incompetent.'' Another post questioned ITEX's financial backing, and one floated the rumor that "senior executives may be party to a wrongful termination lawsuit."
Now ITEX wants those message board users held liable for their comments, which the company claims are false. The case involves a range of legal issues from freedom of speech to manipulating the stock market and protecting online privacy.
With online trading on the rise, more investors are using the Net as a sounding board to complain about executives at public companies, to challenge statements made by firms' about their revenues and investments, or to share hot stock tips.
Brokers' online posts are regulated by the National Association of Securities Dealers Regulation. And the Securities and Exchange Commission does patrol for fraud, and has in fact filed charges against online newsletter publishers who allegedly profited from stock they inflated with upbeat news..."
source: © 1998 c|net news.com "Yahoo message board users sued" By Courtney Macavinta Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM
September 9, 1998, 8:00 a.m. PT news.com |
