In an opinion today, Judge Oetken dismissed a defamation suit brought by GOP donor Sheldon Adelson because (among other reasons) the allegedly defamatory language hyperlinked to an AP article about a lawsuit, and thus constituted a privileged “attribution” of the assertion to a judicial proceeding.  The suit related to an online petition entitled “Tell Romney to Reject Adelson’s Dirty Money.” The petition stated that Adelson “personally approved of prostitution in his Macau casinos,” and the words “personally approved” linked to an AP article reporting on a lawsuit that made the accusation. Judge Oetken found that the hyperlink was sufficient for the attribution privilege:
Continue Reading Judge Oetken Rules Hyperlinking Constitutes Attribution to Source, Dismisses Defamation Suit by Sheldon Adelson