Speech Showdowns at the Virtual Corral

Goldman, Eric

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Speech Showdowns at the Virtual Corral

10 Pages Posted: 15 Jul 2005

See all articles by Eric Goldman

Eric Goldman

Santa Clara University - School of Law

Abstract

This Essay considers the rights of virtual world providers to terminate their customers or otherwise control their worlds. The Essay argues that virtual worlds are not meaningfully different from other online environments and therefore do not warrant virtual world-specific legal rules. The Essay also explains why society benefits by letting virtual world providers decide how much control they want to exercise over their environments.

Keywords: Virtual worlds, state action, sims online, Peter Ludlow, cyberspace exceptionalism, 47 USC 230

JEL Classification: K11, K12, K4, L86, L82, L96, 034

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Goldman, Eric, Speech Showdowns at the Virtual Corral. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=755884