Home > Great American Court Cases > Zeran v. America Online, Inc.

Legal Citation: 129 F. 3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997)

Appellant
Kenneth M. Zeran

Appellee
America Online, Inc. (AOL)

Appellant's Claim
That AOL's delay in responding to notification of defamatory messages posted on their Internet system constituted libel in violation of the First Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant
John Saul Edwards

Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Patrick Joseph Carome

Judges
Chief Judge Wilkinson (writing for the court), Circuit Judge Russell, and U.S. District Judge Boyle

Place
North Carolina

Date of Decision
12 November 1997

Decision
Upheld district court decision that AOL was free of liability for anonymous third party postings on their system.

Significance
The decision meant Internet service providers (ISP) were not responsible as publishers or...