Prof. Kirtley Questions Constitutionality of Takedown Order

Professor Jane Kirtley was quoted in Minnesota Lawyer concerning the pending appeal of a District Court judge's order that a blog be taken down because it violates a restraining order against harassment of the blogger's former girlfriend. In the article, "Minnesota Court of Appeals will Consider Blogger's Right to Free Speech," Kirtley said that in the United States, courts generally do not grant injunctive relief in libel and invasion of privacy cases, and that such orders are particularly ineffectual on the Internet. "For better or for worse, [the girlfriend's] remedy is in a civil action for damages," Kirtley said.