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Electronic Frontier Foundation Media ReleaseEFF Defends Shareholder SpeechUrges Court to Reverse Decision Against Message Board SpeakerFor Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 27, 2002San Francisco - Seeking to protect the free speech rights of an online corporate critic, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today filed a "friend of the court" brief in a California appeals court. A lower court ruled that critic Michael Wells's speech was not protected because, as a corporate shareholder, he had a "pecuniary" interest in the publicly-traded company. After Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals sued Wells and over 50 other defendants who posted criticisms of the company on a Yahoo! message board, Wells requested dismissal of the case under California's Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) statute. The lower court denied Wells's request for dismissal under the statute, which allows the target of an intimidation lawsuit to quickly and inexpensively halt such lawsuits. "Michael Wells exercised his right to criticize company policies on an online message board," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Even as a shareholder, he should not face legal action for expressing his opinions online." The EFF brief, also signed by the First Amendment Project and the California First Amendment Coalition, states: "It simply cannot be the case that the First Amendment or California's SLAPP statute protect only those who speak about issues in which they have no personal financial interest. To the contrary, it is often precisely this interest that motivates citizens to join public debates. The protection of these debates is the heart of the statute's goal of encouraging 'continued participation in matters of public significance.'" Several other people have successfully challenged Hollis-Eden's lawsuit. The appellate court is expected to consider Wells's case late this spring. Links:
For documents related to the Hollis-Eden case:
For the story of the victory of several other individuals
sued by Hollis-Eden: About EFF:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in
1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to
support free expression, privacy, and openness in the information
society. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the
most linked-to Web sites in the world: About First Amendment Project:
The First Amendment Project (FAP) is a nonprofit, public
interest law firm and advocacy organization dedicated to
protecting and promoting freedom of information,
expression, and petition. FAP provides advice, educational
materials, and legal representation to its core
constituency of activists, journalists, and artists in
service of these fundamental liberties. About California First Amendment Coalition:
The California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) is a
nonprofit public benefit corporation organized under the
laws of California. Its more than 500 members comprise news
organizations, journalists, attorneys, citizen activists,
public officials, students and teachers, whose common
concern is protecting the free flow of information on
matters of public significance. Contacts:
Cindy Cohn, EFF Legal Director - end -
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