Justice Will Find Its Way at the End
Saturday morning thoughts (over coffee)
TODAY we continue explaining and exploring the Microsoft-connected SLAPP, which we'll moreover explain at a greater level of depth some time in the future.
The broader but still-prospective plan is to write about this every day - perhaps with some exceptions - and always present new, relevant material (modest transparency is crucial). The Jeff Bezos-owned "journal of record" is a symptom of the Web and democracy dying in darkness [1, 2, 3, 4].
It's all really damning. We're eager to show just how damning that is and how that relates to even bigger conundrums. Gaining some knowledge and experience (from the inside) helps produce informed articles on topics we'd otherwise cover only by linking to other sites. The gratifying thing is, it illuminates the effect on us, too (we've long heard about people and companies impacted by patent trolls, but never experienced that firsthand).
Readers of Techrights already have a rough idea of what's happening and can now (hopefully) get a taste of the mindset of these people who attack me (and even my family), for doing public interest reporting pro bono for nearly 2 decades. These people act like they're entitled for money if they get bad publicity for their very bad (often illegal too) behaviour and they act on behalf of large companies that pay them well over 100,000 dollars per year, as well as their friends in those companies whose personal worth is at tens or hundreds of millions of dollar. Someone pays the bills (Microsoft). It's also outside the UK.
Last night I got in touch with the debt-saddled law firm that does the SLAPPing for American clients. It's my first ever (after more than a year) substantive message to them; I otherwise would never talk back to bullies, unless valid protocols impose this. To be clear, what we're talking about here is connected to Microsoft and to crime. Their goal is to censor pages about strangulation of women, having repeatedly begged first. Pages like these [1, 2] frighten them.
So far the only court order issued was favourable to us. The momentum is on our side.
Last night we spoke to several NGOs about it; they're understandably upset that Americans do this to British publishers that merely publish 'embarrassing' facts. We deserve an award, not SLAPP, for what we've done.
To be very, very unequivocal about it: Techrights will never remove pages that are in the public interest. Don't even try. Or, as my wife put it last year, the truth will prevail irrespective of the costs. Last year we said, "Reporting Crime is Not a Crime". Don't ever let bad actors (like people who assault and strangle women) get even a "small" win. It would be immoral and encourage more bad behaviour (sometimes concealed under the veil of "manners").
At the end - as we're patient enough to do this properly and meticulously - we'll also seek reform and perhaps a belated regulatory intervention. Private Eye, which used to rely on this site for information about EPO abuses, is also involved. There's a growing coalition of people - not limited to the UK - impacted by unscrupulous if not illegal tactics, maybe malpractice. █
