Gossip Site Wins Appeal Of Cheerleader's Lawsuit

An appeals court has found that an Arizona-based gossip website should have been immune from being sued by a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader over online posts that she was promiscuous and had sexually transmitted diseases. The decision from the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a federal Kentucky judge's decision allowing the lawsuit to proceed. Former Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones sued thedirty.com owner Nik Richie in 2012 over anonymously submitted posts about her. A jury found the posts were substantially false and that Richie had acted with malice or reckless disregard by allowing them to be published. Jones was awarded $338,000. Jones' attorney says he'll likely appeal. Internet giants like Google and Facebook have watched the case closely, saying the result had the potential to chill online speech.