Tim Ireland
Turns out 140 characters is long enough for libel. The New York Times reports that a growing number of high-profile Twitter uses have faced lawsuits for indiscreet tweets: Courtney Love was sued for defaming a fashion designer, Demi Moore sued Perez Hilton for tweeting a picture of her daughter, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $25,000 for lambasting a referee after a game. When it comes to the limits of free speech, social media can be a dicey place: Though most agree that libel and defamation laws from old media apply to social media (meaning, if you could be sued for putting it in newsprint, you could be sued for tweeting it) in practice, few treat Twitter and Facebook so seriously. Non-famous people have been affected, too. NYT reports that a Chicago landlord successfully sued a tenant for $50,000 over a tweet about her moldy apartment.