Traditionally, the holiday season is when movie theaters open Hollywood’s biggest films. Alas, not this year. But in light of recent events, we’re reminded …
Traditionally, the holiday season is when movie theaters open Hollywood’s biggest films. Alas, not this year. But in light of recent events, we’re reminded of a blockbuster that opened nationally on Christmas Day,2013: The Wolf of Wall Street. You may recall that Leonardo DiCaprio starred as the real-life Jordan Belfort, whose New York stock brokerage, Stratton Oakmont, was eventually exposed as a massive fraud. When the firm was shut down by authorities, he went to prison. The real-life fraud lasted for more than seven years before its perpetrators were caught. During that time, however, whistleblowers tried to raise the alarm. On a popular online platform called Prodigy, one person described Stratton Oakmont as a «cult of brokers who either lie for a living or get fired.» That turned out to be true, in Technicolor. But that didn’t stop Stratton Oakmont and Jordan Belfort from suing Prodigy for libel. They sought hundreds of millions in damages from Prodigy, simply for hosting the comment on its platform. Prodigy argued it should not be responsible for the content its users create. It had no way of knowing whether Stratton Oakmont was a fraud or not and had never expressed an opinion on the subject. But a New York court held in favor of the real-life Wolf of Wall Street, exposing Prodigy to enormous liability. The court specifically cited Prodigy’s efforts at content moderation, aimed at prohibiting online harassment, as the reason for treating it differently than online platforms where “anything goes.” If Prodigy had not attempted to stifle swearing, bullying and “grossly repugnant” content, the court stated, it would not have been liable for damages.
