Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Nissan won defamation lawsuit against French blogger

Stephanie Gonier is an ex-Nissan executive. She took parental leave and was unhappy about how she was treated when she came back. She started a blog where she recorded her story including scans of her correspondence with the company, culminating to her dismissal. Nissan took the matter to court. While the tribunal acknowledged her right to self-expression, she published personal data about her colleagues, violating their right to privacy and was accused of defamation.

Via Liberation (in French)


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mais vous, qu'en pensez-vous?

Joël Céré said...

Well... I cannot comment on how Nissan treated her, we only have one side of the story through the blog. Naming colleagues on unflattering terms and publishing private correspondence on a blog is not a good idea. There are obvious legal implications. Often people forget that a blog is not like a private diary. You have to think twice about the consequences of what you write. The rule I apply to myself is to think whether I would like to see my post in a newspaper, and any quote taken out of context, but with my name attached to it. If I am not happy picturing that, may be a blog is not the right forum to express my opinion.