Comments on: MostlyLisa’s viral video and the rights of online content providers

By: Raul

Raul — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:01:45 +0000

Thanks all for chiming in. I haven’t had a chance to speak to my folks, but I would REALLY like to hear what they think, because from the legal perspective (and from my experience assisting my parents in legal proceedings), I have a sense that the issue is way more complex, but there is definitely a large social and “perception” component.

By: Jeffery Simpson

Jeffery Simpson — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:42:30 +0000

There’s no legal reason for her not posting the video. Had the party hosts told people that there would be no photography/video, then they could have ejected her from the house for taking the photo but not made her delete the photo or control what was done with it.

It’s a 100% social issue, and I’m frankly shocked to see it get so much attention. I think people are reading far too much into the issue, beyond whether or not she should be polite and respect the hosts’ wishes or still and use the video.

It’s one of those cases when because it happens online people don’t know what to do, even though off-line common sense should clearly apply.

By: monicahamburg

monicahamburg — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:13:36 +0000

I really like this post, Raul. Especially the open-endedness of the question posted. Law is like that in my experience, somewhat elusive (though I imagine my lawyer friends would beg to differ). You should get Jeremy Costin to weigh in on this.

By: Barbara Doduk

Barbara Doduk — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:03:12 +0000

I find the web has become the wild frontier. HAHA I would be curious to hear what your folks say.

By: Ryan Cousineau

Ryan Cousineau — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:56:47 +0000

Not being a lawyer, but understanding the issues roughly as Mostly Lisa posted them, I suspect she’s legally in the right.

The real issues are, essentially, the moral/social issues. There’s a question of a social expectation that you won’t videotape your friends and acquaintances unless you have permission, and there’s the question of whether you have a moral obligation to respect a social convention. In terms of social punishments, she probably won’t get invited to any more parties at that house.