The legal issues presented in the lawuit against Aaron Wall of SEOBook are of critical importance not only to the SEO industry, but to blogs nationwide in the US. Although I'm devoting a significant portion of resources to Hurricane Katrina cleanup, I recognize that Aaron's cause is not only worthy, but also critical to the survival of SEOmoz and other weblogs in every field.
At issue here is whether blog owners can be sued for the comments their visitors make and how far the outing of "trade secrets" extends in the legal sense. If Aaron loses this case, or cannot pursue it, the floodgates will open and I suspect that sites across the web will be forced to take down their negative commentary on the methods and practices of larger companies. Free speech in this instance must be protected, or the web's ability to freely criticize organizations will suffer.
Traffic Power (also known as 1p or FirstPlace) is without doubt one of the most ineffective and scam-ridden companies in the SEO industry. I've talked with their reps on the phone several times and watched their process in action. I have clients who've used their services and been banned & penalized by the engines and I've got copies of the pages and ads TP made on my hard drive as evidence. There can be no question that Aaron's comments and those of his visitors are perfectly within their rights. To help out, please visit the donation page at SEOBook.
Added: Here are Aaron's original comments about TP. There's also considerable discussion from industry experts (including Ian, who has a legal background) at SEW.
Michael,
As much as I recognize that you have a lot of valuable thoughts to contribute to this issue, I'm going to ask that everyone at SEOmoz refrain from any type of personal attack or criticism on others in the industry. I'd like to keep SEOmoz operating with the simple, unpublished standards of professional courtesy.
I'm not going to edit these comments - I highly value open discussion, but I would ask that in the future, anyone posting here at the site use as much civility and restraint as they can muster.
On the more substantive issue of negative effects from Aaron possibly winning the case, I don't see them. I would be interested to hear what folks think about any damaging ramifications of an SEOBook win in this case.
Since TP does not appear to be providing any hint at which "trade secrets" were outed in Aaron's comments, I don't see where the case is. I'm no attorney, but isn't there a precedence for owners of message boards, etc having been found not responsible for the comments users leave on their sites? Seems a blog is not that much different.
I have received 2 calls from people from TP in the past. I've also received calls from at least 10 companies that used them as customers. It does not take long to arrive at a conclusion.
Aaron's point is that free speech on the web is at issue here and I cannot image what possible negative outcomes there would be if he won the suit. Using some imagination, one could fantasize that gangs of rouge citizen journalists would be free to bash all the blue chip brands they want, without repercussion. However, there are laws regarding defamation and libel that would keep that in check without inhibiting free speech I think.
I guess we'll see. In the meantime providing support for Aaron is a good cause.
Rand. You know i am the kind that normally keeps quiet on subject like this. NOT I think if you post it you need to deal with it. If you are speaking about anyone in a negative way on a blog you need to deal with the consequences of doing such a thing. I hope it all gets settled in a way that makes both parties happy but if you do the `crime` you need to do the time. If i blogged bad stuff about you i am sure you would be a bit pissed at me and throw a wobbler but i would be prepared for it as i was typing it and would stand up and take the punishment as a man.
I do post some nasty stuff about people who have been bad to me and maybe i will think more carefully about it now.