Usually bad things are not as bad as they are portrayed on blogs. Blogs tend to exaggerate, because otherwise no one would read them. Plus, if blogs didn’t exaggerate, dead tree journalists would have nothing to feel superior about as they made soup out of catsup and hot water.

However, despite occasional signs of improvement, English libel law is every bit as bad (censorious, unjust, and chilling) as blogs (including ours) have been suggesting. Don’t believe me? Check out this infuriating article by First Amendment scholar Floyd Abrams over at Index on Censorship. Abrams reports that plaintiffs win 90% of libel suits in English courts, an astounding figure. Read it.

Last 5 posts by Ken

• You Know Who Else Disapproved of Anne Frank's Vagina? HITLER. - January 29th, 2010
• Television Is Like A Frog - January 28th, 2010
• Don't Badmouth the Black Robes - January 28th, 2010
• Also, His Elf Wizard Failed To Exhaust Administrative Remedies - January 27th, 2010
• Letters That I Did Not Send Today, Though I Wanted To - January 26th, 2010