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19 Vand. J. Ent. & Tech. L. 721 (2016-2017)
Taming the Internet Pitchfork Mob: Online Public Shaming, the Viral Media Age, and the Communications Decency Act

handle is hein.journals/vanep19 and id is 747 raw text is: Taming the Internet Pitchfork Mob: Online Public Shaming, the Viral Media Age, and the Communications Decency Act ABSTRACT Accompanying the explosive growth of the Internet, one lamentable trend is the rise of online public shaming. While online public shaming may positively incentivize individuals to modify their behavior in accordance with socially acceptable norms, there has also been the emergence of an online pitchfork mob that can have a real impact on individuals' livelihoods and overall wellbeing. Due to the lack of legal remedies available to victims of certain types of online shaming, this Note suggests that web hosts are empowered by the expansive protections of the Communications Decency Act to develop and implement policies to curb the prevalence of online public shaming. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. GRAB YOUR PITCHFORKS: How ONLINE PUBLIC SHAMING HAS EXPLODED IN POPULARITY ........... ..............725 A. Colonial Public Shaming in America... ............725 B. Public Shaming 2.0: The Rise of Online Public Shaming................................... 725 1. The Critical Role of Anonymity and Shaming's Disproportionate Effects..... .......... 728 2. The Important Distinction Between Online Shaming, Defamation, and Other Torts.......730 II. THE COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT AND SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ISP LIABILITY FOR THIRD-PARTY STATEMENTS........................................... 732 A. The Advent of the Communications Decency Act.....733 B. The Post-Zeran Landscape: Broad ISP Immunity .. 736 721

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