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Making Negative Statements About a Foreign Consulate

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  • 06-02-2011, 12:19 PM
    Davidjess
    Making Negative Statements About a Foreign Consulate
    My question involves defamation in the state of: Az or all USA.
    My org puts up a wiki about a foreign consulate.
    The consulate is honorary (part time), which does not have immunity.
    The consulate writes demanding 100% editorial control or removal of the page.
    The consulate is offended by bad grammar in the foreign language, image problems, amateurish presentation, minor inaccuracies about events and positions, and a particular characterization of her business, which she says is false (but is clearly not false nor defamatory). A parallel (so that I do not reveal identities here) would be calling mcdonalds a hamburger company, and them not liking that description.

    I am certainly not worried about libel or privacy specifically, just the power imbalance. It gets into international law which may not be covered here, but I think his demand has no right behind it. What do you think?
  • 06-04-2011, 11:37 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Making Negative Statements About a Foreign Consulate
    I have no access to the site, and don't know what foreign nation is involved. Under U.S. law, though, with the tiny amount of information you've provided, I expect that you're right.
  • 06-04-2011, 08:57 PM
    Davidjess
    Re: Making Negative Statements About a Foreign Consulate
    Good job on replying using only the information given as the facts of the case. The country is Brasil. I worry about things like being on their records (kind of like being on the FBI list here), and being denied a visa or entry to the country, or how it might affect my relatives who have Brazilian citizenship. I also worry about power differentials and what can be done in retaliation either legally or otherwise. It would also be good for me to beef up my knowledge of defamation to steer clear of more direct problems. I know in Brasil they have a different legal theory. There somebody can get in trouble for making a family name look bad, and in some cases maybe for simply making a false statement about anything. They can also get in trouble for not following a codified procedure. This may be where the consulate got the idea that she can demand editorial control of somebody else's site. Another good thing to know would be how to offset any potential liability to an organization, kind of like you do with money in a corporation. The organization publishes the site, not an individual. And since it is a wiki, the contributors can be anonymous. I noticed in the Brazilian constitution that ALL anonymous communications are prohibited. But this site is for US law: I have seen that written in other places. You asked what country it was, so I told you. But revealing the site would probably be putting too much detail out there, since it has already raised somebody's gander, once. Yes, details are helpful. But on a discussion site like this, you have to do what you did and go with what is given, maybe asking for more.

    So, it is not about specific libel for what was written (for that, I would provide you with a copy of the site to see details). It is more around what protections a US citizen or group has in talking about a foreign country within US borders. And how they can privately protect themselves, and what kind of international law might affect a US citizen or group. If you do not know, hey that is OK. It is here on the forum in case somebody does! Thank you for your interest and replies.
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