Aaron Schur, a lawyer for Yelp, said the company voluntarily removes postings it considers defamatory, but had examined the challenged reviews and found no evidence they were libelous.

Yelp objected, citing the federal law, and also noted that it had not been a party to Hassell’s suit. Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutesīird has not responded, and, according to Hassell’s lawyers, she lacks the funds to pay damages. A few months later, “Birdzeye B.,” later identified as Bird, posted a one-star review on Yelp describing the firm as incompetent and advising others to steer clear. Hassell’s law firm, which represents plaintiffs in accidents, job discrimination and other cases, briefly represented client Ava Bird in an injury case in 2012 and then withdrew.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, and Twitter say they are also trying to act quickly against abusive or hateful speech. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Congress last May that his company was taking a “broader view of our responsibility” for postings. Some online companies say they are taking their own steps to control harmful or offensive speech on their networks. Those who post libelous material can still be sued. The federal law, part of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, says internet service providers cannot be held liable for the content of material posted by others on their website. On Tuesday, the nation’s high court denied review of Hassell’s appeal, without comment. The law was “intended to promote online discourse and industry self-regulation” and therefore allows Yelp to decide when to leave third-party statements on its website, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said in the 4-3 ruling. But the state’s high court ruled in July that the removal order conflicted with a federal law that shields internet service providers from legal responsibility for statements posted by others. Supreme Court rejected a San Francisco attorney’s request Tuesday to order Yelp to take down an online denunciation by a former client, leaving intact a California Supreme Court ruling that said the online review company can’t be ordered to remove libelous or offensive content.Ī judge had found the client’s attack on San Francisco attorney Dawn Hassell to be libelous and ordered Yelp to remove it. Amy Osborne / Special To The Chronicle 2018 Show More Show Less Amy Osborne / Special To The Chronicle 2018 Show More Show Less 3 of3 YELP CEO Jeremy Stoppelman speaks at a panel discussion on housing with State Senator Scott Wiener among others at the Yelp headquarters on Thursday, Apin San Francisco, California. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of3 Pedestrians walk past Yelp headquarters on Thursday, Apin San Francisco, California. Supreme Court rejected a San Francisco attorney’s request Tuesday to order Yelp to take down an online denunciation by a former client. 1 of3 Sign at the headquarters of social reviews site Yelp in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, California, October 13, 2017. The U.S.