Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Free Speech Gone Wild

Imagine you have a hot bedmate that chronicles every kinky or embarrassing detail of your encounters on a blog. Add to that the fact that you have a high profile job and your coworkers have read that blog and now you’re the hot topic at the water-cooler. Should your bedmate’s journalistic exercise be protected as free speech under the First Amendment?

Is this any different then that paramour of Paris Hilton taping their romp and selling DVDs? That fellow was able to purchase a $6-million dollar home with the proceeds of his artistic efforts to the chagrin of that famous Hollywood bad girl.

Now Robert Steinbuch and his blogging-bedmate Jessica Cutler are in a federal court learning answers to those questions. I somehow suspect the legal remedy Steinbuch is seeking here will only bring him fame and lots of additional attention. I just can’t imagine the logic of his lawsuit. Perhaps as Steinbuch’s profile is raised we will figure out why he filed this action. Here is an Associated Press report on the case.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why did she have to mention his name, profession, etc in her online journals??

At least have some respect for her former bedmates....

Anonymous said...

She didn't name him. She didn't even name herself (the blog was anonymous.) Other bloggers outed her and named Steinbuch as "RS." Back then, I guess that was an okay thing to do, but now it's generally frowned upon.