Matt Ivester calls it “gossip 2.0″ ““ the buzz on everything from the most attractive people on campus to students’ Thursday night shenanigans is finding its way onto the World Wide Web.
Ivester, a 2005 graduate of Duke University, created JuicyCampus.com, a Web site that allows students at nearly 60 colleges and universities to anonymously post rumors and gossip tidbits.
“The idea is that it would be a fun place for lighthearted gossip,” he said. “Thinking back to my college days, I can remember some of the ridiculous and hilarious things me and my friends would do, and this would be a place to share that.”
Ivester isn’t the only one to tap the college gossip market. In recent months, new Web sites and applications have cropped up that appeal to students’ sense of intrigue. LAGoneDirty.com allows users to post photos, usually compromising or unflattering, of friends and events.
But the legal lines between free speech and defamation can sometimes be tricky, and these Web sites have a barrage of legal protections in place to limit their own liability.
Defamation generally covers any false statement that causes someone to suffer damages as a result, and Lynn LoPucki, a professor at the UCLA School of Law, noted that federal law protects Web sites like JuicyCampus.com from being held responsible for defamatory material posted on their sites.
Instead, a post’s author is responsible for the content, even if they are simply repeating gossip they have heard, LoPucki said.
“A speaker who repeats something they heard is responsible for the truth of what they heard,” he said.
Ivester said part of the reason this law is in place is practicality.
“It would be completely unmanageable for a Web site like Facebook (or JuicyCampus.com) to monitor every post that’s on their site,” he said.
He added that, for similar reasons, JuicyCampus.com administrators do not remove or alter posts.
“We’re not in a position to judge the validity of a post,” he said.
If a student feels they have been defamed, he or she would need to take action against the author of the post, Ivester said.
But JuicyCampus.com allows users to maintain anonymity ““ there are no user names and no registration process, which can make it difficult for students to address their concerns about specific posts.
LoPucki said it is always possible to trace the origin of a specific post, but doing so often requires expensive advanced technology and the involvement of law enforcement.
He added that if something is true, it cannot be defamation ““ simply disliking a post is not always reason enough to forcibly remove the content.
He advised students to choose their battles when it comes to Internet gossip.
“It depends on whether it is a truly serious matter,” he said. “There is no way to stop people gossiping about you. But if they’re accusing you of mass murder, you need to take some action.”
Sites like LAGoneDirty.com, which hosts photos, are more likely to bring up copyright issues, said UCLA law professor Neil Netanel.
In general, if someone did not take a photo, he or she does not have the right to republish that photo, which includes posting it on a Web site, Netanel said.
“If the photographer doesn’t want their photos reposted, (provided) they know who reposted them, they can demand that the poster take them off,” he said.
But again, LAGoneDirty.com cannot be held responsible, and pursuing legal action can be complicated and costly.
“You’re not allowed to sue for infringement if you’re not registered for copyright. (And) if the infringement took place before you registered, you’re not eligible for damages,” Netanel said.
Watermarking photos or posting a notice telling people not to republish your photos can help, but when so many students post photos on sites like Facebook and MySpace, preventing every incident is unlikely, Netanel said.
The legal issues, along with general concerns about Internet gossip, have prompted some schools to caution students against using Web sites like JuicyCampus.com.
Megan Ryan, a first-year student at Pepperdine University, said students at Pepperdine received e-mails from their student body president urging them to avoid these Web sites.
But Ivester said the response to his site has been overwhelmingly positive.
Last October, JuicyCampus.com launched a trial run at seven campuses. The site has since expanded to 58 campuses.
UCLA was one of the seven trial campuses, and today there are hundreds of posts.
“We can judge by the amount of users, and how much time they spend on the site, it seems like they’re enjoying it,” Ivester said. “Students get really excited when they hear we’re coming to their campus.”
Karen Paulson, a third-year anthropology and Scandinavian studies student, said she understands why a site like JuicyCampus.com would appeal to students at small schools where people are more likely to know each other.
She added that she believes at a big school like UCLA, such sites make less sense because most students are unlikely to know the subject of any given post.
Paulson said she is unlikely to use the site.
“I feel like it just causes more drama,” she said.
But Ivester said drama isn’t the point.
“Ultimately, the site is meant for entertainment. It’s not anything we think anyone should take too seriously,” he said. “I think the site is pretty entertaining.”