EBay Ruling Punctures Web Liability Shield

An appeals court ruled Thursday that EBay Inc.'s savvy user agreement relieved the company of liability for the defamatory postings one user of its auctioneer site made against another. But the court said that a provision of the California Decency Act of 1996 -- routinely the first line of defense invoked by content providers seeking a shield -- does not immunize eBay against liability for distributing information it knew or had reason to believe was false.

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