The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

By: TAMMIE SLOUP, http://www.mywebtimes.com/ Parents, get with the times. That was Sarah Migas' opening message during a presentation about online safety Thursday night at Ottawa Township High School. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook and Internet chat rooms and instant messaging are becoming increasingly popular means for children and teenagers to socialize. While they have their positives, digital technology also can be dangerous. "Kids are seeing the Internet as the wild wild West," said Migas, an Internet safety specialist with the Illinois Attorney General's Office. Migas and Daniel Spillman, assistant attorney general with the high tech crimes bureau, talked to a handful of audience members, introducing what they referred to as a "travel guide" for parents to navigate their way through some of these social networking sites and learn the languages being used by children to communicate. Migas said acronyms often are used amongst blogge...

By Jacqui Cheng Threats against others on the Internet are just about as surprising as the sky being blue every morning. But some threats are more serious than others, and the list of victims seems to be expanding as more of the unwashed masses general public gets online. Online marketers are one of the newest groups to join that list, and once again, we are faced with questions about how much regulation is necessary in online communities to keep the peace without stepping on users' freedom of expression...... click here for the entire article. ************************************************************** As a victim of Internet Defamation and now a survivor of it, Jacqui Cheng completely articulated the way many people feel as they are being attacked online - and comically, we usually call them " nutjobs !" Since my victory in court with a jury verdict for damages ( over $11M ) of what one woman did to my family, my organization and myself online, I receive emails o...

THE FIGHT AGAINST INTERNET DEFAMATION STRENGTHENS! As attorney's and judges are reviewing these cases, the recognition for action is loud and clear. Fight back - it is your right! Recently I have personally meet with both a prominent Senator and a well-know attorney. Both were completely astonished at the reckless regard for the truth that lingers on the Internet and agree, it is time to fight back! More and more lawyers are considering these cases on a contingency basis. Free Speech will not condone defamation and it has become more clear that there is a blatant disregard and lack of respect for the first amendment right. I am proud to be part of this movement to help other victims that will rise above people that believe free speech will protect them.

The law of Defamation has come under renewed scrutiny with the advent of the Internet. This is largely because it is the nature of the Internet to give the average, anonymous person an opportunity to express their opinion well-beyond any previously defined venue. Consider the fact that a person of modest means now has the ability to publish a statement, article, or news item across the world in an instant, without an editor checking the facts. Thereafter, the item will linger on the 'Net for months, or even years, impossible to recover and amend, if the "facts" are erroneous. Therefore, it is inevitable that problems are going to arise. The main issue to remember when dealing with the Internet is that people still have their basic legal rights intact on the Net, and - likewise - the Internet is not as completely anonymous as the typical person may presumes. What is Defamation? The law of defamation has been defined in the West for centuries, and the Internet variety holds...

With this unprecedented jury verdict (not a default verdict) of $11.3M - comes more slander! If you are reading ugly and malicious information about me, you can understand why. The defendant - Carey Bock - who attempted to get the judgement set aside - was denied with a strong order set down by the Judge. She is being held liable for the defamation and invasion of privacy she created to myself and my family. I have also received a mass amount of media attention from prominent news outlets such as 20/20 ABC News i-Caught, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Forbes and more. All these reputable journalist did their due diligence on my case. Freedom of speech is here to stay - Defamation is not acceptable.

Just a quick note of thanks to all the people that have emailed me about my story on 20/20 ABC News i-Caught. I appreciate all your notes and I am overwhelmed at the amount of abuse that is on the Internet. Personally, I will always have my critics, as many people that are making a difference have, but being able to speak out and help others has been rewarding. Thanks again to all that wrote. A special thanks to Micheal Fertik and the team at Reputation Defender and MyEdge for helping me to come forward and speak out.

Tuesday, August 14 th , 2007 - Sue Scheff and Michael Fertik , CEO of Reputation Defender were featured on 20/20 ABC News new series - i-Caught . Sitting down with renown Journalist, Martin Bashir , Sue Scheff and Michael Fertik share the seriousness of maintaining your Online Profile and fighting malicious and online attacks.