New Hampshire Suit Impacts Bloggers and News Websites

CONCORD, N.H. — What is a journalist? That is the question that the New Hampshire Supreme Court is trying to decide in a case that may determine the legitimacy of independent websites and bloggers that report on news stories — and the legal protections that are afforded to them — or not.

The case, The Mortgage Specialists, Inc. (MSI), v. Implode-Explode Heavy Industries, stems back to 2008 and revolves around Las Vegas-based Implode-Explode and its website, www.ml-implode.com, which discusses the mortgage industry meltdown.

In the original action, MSI was granted a temporary injunction compelling Implode-Explode to remove its "2007 Loan Chart" from the company's website. MSI also sought the identity of an anonymous user known as "Brianbattersby," who allegedly posted defamatory comments about MSI and its president.

While Implode-Explode reportedly removed the loan chart and comments, it refused to provide the name of its anonymous sources, at which point MSI sought and won a permanent injunction against the company.

In this week's hearing, Implode Explode attorney Jeremy Eggleton of Orr & Reno decried the injunction as a violation of the First Amendment that tramples on the rights of his client by imposing prior restraint on his ability to speak freely.

MSI counsel Alexander Walker of Devine, Millimet & Branch, retorted that "This is not the Pentagon Papers … They [Implode Explode] are not journalists."

Although both parties concede that the ml-implode.com website is not The New York Times, the question rests on what constitutes journalism and who is able to benefit from Constitutional protections over the freedom of the press.

"Can anyone who posts a blog be considered a reporter?" Associate Justice Carol Ann Conboy asked Eggleton; who replied affirmatively that "The test is whether the person has an intention to gather, analyze and disseminate," and contended that this "is a reasonable standard and Implode Explode meets that standard."

MSI came to the attention of Implode-Explode after an investigation by banking authorities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for a variety of alleged violations, which ultimately required MSI to pay a fine of $725,000 and to open old files for further review.

For its part, MSI contends that its confidential internal documents were improperly leaked to the New Hampshire Banking Department.

While the court has not yet made a final ruling, some observers believe that it could remand the case back to the lower court, asking for clarification on several specific points of law and that the case could be wide-reaching and precedent setting.

"As we are moving online and our journalism is going online," Assistant Director of the Citizen Media Law Project and Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, Sam Bayard, said. "This could have a big impact."

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More