City Attorney Sues Blogger for Libel. Is It ‘A Threat Designed to Silence?’

Via the Miami Herald 

By: Sarah Blaskey

Cyberlaw Clinical Instructional Fellow Kendra Albert was quoted in an article by the Miami Herald about a lawsuit where the North Bay Village, FL attorney is suing a blogger for alleged libel:

“The suit is part of a growing trend of public officials taking bloggers to court for posts they see as harmful to their personal or professional image, according to Kendra Albert of Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic. Melania Trump filed a high-profile libel suit against a Maryland blogger that settled last year in her favor, with a full retraction and significant reparations. While some cases are legitimate, Albert said, the increase in lawsuits against journalists (think Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker) has publications thinking twice before publishing. These days, even facts can be expensive to defend.

‘Journalistic entities need to have a fair amount of money in order to defend themselves, and I do think that does represent a threat,’ Albert said. ‘Lawsuits can be weaponized by folks with more power to shut down speech they don’t like. But that’s not necessarily what’s happening here.’ Albert did not review the specifics of the case.”

Read the full article here.