Lets ignore some more advice from the founding generation
The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy. – Benjamin Franklin
NJ court: No shield law for message boards posters
The New Jersey Supreme Court says people posting in online message boards don’t have the same protections for sources as mainstream journalists.
The court ruled Tuesday that New Jersey’s shield law for journalists does not apply to such message boards.
The case involved a New Jersey-based software company named Too Much Media. It sued a Washington state blogger for defamation and wanted her to reveal sources she cited on message board posts.
Shellee Hale claimed customer information was compromised and that she should be protected from revealing her sources.
New Jersey’s highest court says online message boards are little more than forums for discussion and don’t fit the definition of news media as described by the law.
It may be true that the law sets up special privileges for one group of people that don’t apply to another group, simply because of the job they hold and the way the law is written. Very well. If that is the case, the law should be struck down for not providing equal protection under the law. Rights are not predicated on one’s occupation, but rather, merely one’s existence.