Legal Question in Technology Law in Washington
Electronic Distribution of False News To Incite Panic
With the recent surge of blogs and
websites such as Twitter, one could
easily propagate false news much in
the vein of Orson Welles' famous
broadcast of War of the Worlds. What
if someone were to create a false
event like that one using Twitter (eg)
with the sole intention of causing a
panic or an outcry? What laws would
this individual be potentially breaking
and what previous cases have dealt
with this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Electronic Distribution of False News To Incite Panic
It calls to mind "crying fire in an open theatre", one of the first restrictions on free speach. It could be a matter of national security, or deemed an act of terror, in which case the individual would have almost no rights under the Patriot Act.
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