Law Of The Cyber-Land

CNN takes a look at how Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites are changing the legal landscape almost as fast as they are changing the tech one.

In a case that would have been impossible even five years ago, bad-girl rocker Courtney Love is being sued for libel by a fashion designer for allegedly slamming the woman on Twitter.

The suit claims that after a disagreement over what Love should pay Dawn Simorangkir for the clothes she designed, Love posted allegedly derogatory and false comments about the designer -- among them that she had a "history of dealing cocaine" -- on her now-discontinued Twitter feed.

But as technology evolves faster than the laws that govern free speech online, it's not just the famous who are finding trouble.

Consider the case of Amanda Bonnen and her former landlord. Bonnen, an Illinois resident, is accused of using Twitter to tell another user: "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon Realty thinks it's okay."

Horizon Group Management LLC, the company that owned the apartment in question, sued Bonnen for libel over the alleged tweet. Horizon is seeking $50,000 in damages.

Legal experts say such Internet-related cases are being watched closely because they confront new and unaddressed areas of American law.

For example, how should a libel case be handled when it comes to social media? How can society balance accountability with free speech? And if information -- from private thoughts to public data -- is so readily available, how do we define what constitutes privacy?

And that goes for blogs like this one too.  People say all kinds of stuff on the 'net, but where do you draw the line?  I often say that there's no punishment for lying on the net, certainly there are political operatives who ride that train for a living.  Where are the boundaries of free speech on a tweet or a Facebook post?

What counts as libel?  What counts as fraud?  Those are legal questions that I think are going to be answered sooner rather than later.  Will political blogs like this one become extinct down the road?  How can it possibly all be monitored?  How do you stop a malicious e-mail campaign (Obama's a Muslim, anyone?)

The 2010 and 2012 campaigns may shape these laws for decades.