In any case, making a claim that blacklists "are now" charging money
to be added or removed from blacklists is not something that is new.
Nor is this blackmail. Nor did you explain that the reason you posted
your original email was because of a specific problem.
I beleive that as a matter of law you are wrong. Extortion statues
have been applied to behaviour of that precise type.
If threaten to publish or continue publishing information about
someone unless they pay you that is considered extortion under
English Common Law and most US state laws. It does not matter whether
the information is true or false.
Specifically -
http://resource.lawlinks.com/Content/Legal_Research/US_code/Title_18/title_1
8_41.htm
CITE 18 USC Sec. 875
01/26/98
EXPCITE TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 41 - EXTORTION AND THREATS
(d) Whoever, with intent to extort from any person, firm,
association, or corporation, any money or other thing of value,
transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication
containing any threat to injure the property or reputation of the
addressee or of another or the reputation of a deceased person or
any threat to accuse the addressee or any other person of a crime,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two
years, or both.
The precedent in the MAPS case against Media3 indicates that a
blacklisting could injure the reputation of a party. Note that
the refusal of an injunction in the MAPS case was on the degree
of the injury being sufficient, not the fact of injury. Had the
pleading established that the monetary damages were significant
the injuction would probably have been issued on the reasoning
given.
So yes, this type of behavior is criminal extorition, whether
or not the statement thrreatened is true or not.
A blacklist cannot legally charge people for removal.
Phill
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