The US Supreme Court has ruled that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are not responsible for messages carried on the internet in a decision that has widespread repercussions for online publishing.

The court upheld a previous ruling from the New York Court of Appeals that found against Alexander Lunney who attempted to sue the ISP Prodigy after someone else used his name to distribute threatening messages to his neighbours. At the time Lunney was only 15 years old.

Ruling that Prodigy could not be held liable for defamation or negligence, the court said that Prodigy should have the same protection as telephone and telegraph companies that play only a 'passive role' in communication.

'The public would not be well served by compelling an ISP to examine and screen millions of e-mail communications, on pain of liability for defamation,' the court said.

However, the court said that the law is more complicated in relation to postings on bulletin boards. Even so, it ruled that the ISP was not the 'publisher' of the offending messages.

The ruling is in stark contrast with the furore in the UK last month when Demon Internet agreed to pay £200,000 in costs and damages to deflect a libel action brought by Dr Laurence Godfrey who claimed he was defamed on one of Demon's news groups (click here for full story).

In reaction, other ISPs pulled the plug on a number of controversial websites fearing the case would lead to further libel claims.

While the Lunney case has clarified the legal position for ISPs based in the US, British ISPs are left in limbo.

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