PublishAmerica's attorney Vic Cretella attempted to squelch freedom of the press and the first amendment rights of the two reporters, the Reverend Sinthyia Darkness and Thomas Myers whose accurate and truthful investigative reports about PublishAmerica were published in the Examiner. The attorney accused the Examiner of publishing a false "defamatory" report. There was no defamation. An issue Defamation is up to a court to decide, not an attorney. It is upsetting to those of us who know that the truth about this company needs to be heard. It is too bad that a news outlet like the Examiner would give in to a letter without realizing that the accusations had no merit. In that respect, the Examiner is no better than this company. Under United States law, PublishAmerica cannot sue the Examiner over these reports. The Examiner should know better and this attorney should know better. You don't see websites such as Absolute Write buckling under such letters and you can bet they have gotten them.
I have been in touch with the journalists to ask about the 4th part of this report and that is how I learned of this incident. Be that as it may, the reporters have no intent of blocking this information from being published and exercising their rights under the first amendment.
Victor Cretella did to the examiner the very thing congress set about to prevent!
Communications Decency Act
47 U.S.C. Section 230 §230. Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material
(a) FindingsThe Congress finds the following:(1) The rapidly developing array of Internet and other interactive computer services available to individual Americans represent an extraordinary advance in the availability of educational and informational resources to our citizens.
(2) These services offer users a great degree of control over the information that they receive, as well as the potential for even greater control in the future as technology develops.
(3) The Internet and other interactive computer services offer a forum for a true diversity of political discourse, unique opportunities for cultural development, and myriad avenues for intellectual activity.
(4) The Internet and other interactive computer services have flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of government regulation.
(5) Increasingly Americans are relying on interactive media for a variety of political, educational, cultural, and entertainment services.(b) PolicyIt is the policy of the United States --(1) to promote the continued development of the Internet and other interactive computer services and other interactive media;
(2) to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation;
(3) to encourage the development of technologies which maximize user control over what information is received by individuals, families, and schools who use the Internet and other interactive computer services;
(4) to remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their children's access to objectionable or inappropriate online material; and
(5) to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking, and harassment by means of computer.(c) Protection for "good samaritan" blocking and screening of offensive material(1) Treatment of publisher or speakerNo provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.(2) Civil LiabilityNo provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of --(A) any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected; or (B) any action taken to enable or make available to information content providers or others the technical means to restrict access to material described in paragraph (1).(d) Obligations of interactive computer serviceA provider of interactive computer service shall, at the time of entering an agreement with a customer for the provision of interactive computer service and in a manner deemed appropriate by the provider, notify such customer that parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software, or filtering services) are commercially available that may assist the customer in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. Such notice shall identify, or provide the customer with access to information identifying current providers of such protections.(e) Effect on other laws(1) No effect on criminal lawNothing in this section shall be construed to impair the enforcement of section 223 or 231 of this title, chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation of children) of Title 18, or any other Federal criminal statute.
(2) No effect on intellectual property lawNothing in this section shall be construed to limit or expand any law pertaining to intellectual property.(3) State lawNothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any State from enforcing any State law that is consistent with this section. No cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any state or local law that is inconsistent with this section.(4) No Effect on Communications Privacy lawNothing in this section shall be construed to limit the application of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 or any of the amendments made by such Act, or any similar State law.(f) DefinitionsAs used in this section:(1) InternetThe term "Internet" means the international computer network of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable packet switched data networks.(2) Interactive computer serviceThe term "interactive computer service" means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.(3) Information content providerThe term "information content provider" means any person or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other interactive computer service.(4) Access software provider
The term "access software provider" means a provider of software (including client or server software), or enabling tools that do any one or more of the following:(A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;
(B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or
(C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search, subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content
PubliSHAMErica- SHAME is our middle name!
4 comments:
If this report does not come down I'm going to smite thee with the biggest lawsuit you have ever seen you'll be sorry. I sue people all the time.. for big bucks! Hundreds, millions of dollars so Meiners can play hellocopter
as I was saying on another forum shying away from controversy will never put the Examiner on the media forefront. They cannot be ready to fold just because the subject of an article protests it. If that were the case all the major papers would have closed shop by now
I do feel Publish America has not been fare to me. I have been with them several years and received the first dollar and then a few cents. Nothing else for my book which I know sold not only to friends and relatives but in the U.S. and other countries as well. You bring up the book and on the bottom of the page it tells you where you can buy it and of course it's through Publish America. I know it when people tell me about my book and what a great story it is. This company sells our books but we do not receive anything for them. They try to sell us our own books as well. I am cacelling my contract as soon as it is over. Seven years! what a waste of my time and the effort that went into this book.But, as soon as it is cacelled and out of print, I will seek other avenues for this great book.
Penelope
@Penelope...don't feel like there is nothing you can do. I contacted the top online sellers myself....Barnes and Nobles, Borders, etc. and personally made them aware of the ongoing battle between myself and Publish America. They removed my title almost immediately! I suggest you do the same and self-publish it. Peace. Hannah Faye.
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