The gossip Web site Juicy Campus maintains that it has not violated any laws, despite allegations of consumer fraud from law-enforcement officials in two states.
Authorities in New Jersey and Connecticut are trying to determine whether Juicy Campus violates consumer-fraud laws by not enforcing its posted terms and conditions and by misrepresenting its policies to users and advertisers.
In response to a subpoena issued by the Attorney General of New Jersey and a letter issued by the Attorney General of Connecticut, Juicy Campus released a statement last week contending that it has not misrepresented itself.
The Juicy Campus statement claims that, since the site does not screen user content, it is immune from liability arising from statements made by others.
In an attempt to circumvent this immunity, the Attorneys General of New Jersey and Connecticut say Juicy Campus commits consumer fraud by not enforcing its policy against posting defamatory or abusive comments.
According to the Juicy Campus statement, Congress and dozens of courts have already determined Web site operators are not liable for failing to censor defamatory postings. The alternative is to remove the site policies altogether, which, the statement called, "an absurd result."
"We consider the Attorneys General's conduct to constitute a heavy-handed attempt to ignore the clear direction established by Congress and the Courts and interfere with the free-speech rights of our users," the statement said.
Juicy Campus did not comment on the other allegations made by the New Jersey Attorney General, including the site's failure to verify the school affiliations of posters, its failure to ensure that users under age 18 receive parental consent to post on the site and its misrepresentation to advertising companies.
