Backlund v. Stone
An aspiring lawyer in his 30’s named Christopher Stone operated a website for teenagers on which he posted lewd photographs and other scandalous and salacious material. Stone presented himself in the mainstream media as an expert on the topic of “sextortion,†a form of blackmail characterized by threats to humiliate a person by posting nude photographs on the Internet. In February 2010, Stone tweeted a threat to “spam†a seminude photograph of a teenage girl; she was subsequently interviewed by an investigative reporter for an article about Stone’s threat to publicly humiliate her. Stone has now sued the girl for defamation. Following de novo review, we direct the trial court to strike Stone’s pleading as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16.)[1]
Comments on Backlund v. Stone