A nationwide Internet message board host, has reached an agreement with the attorneys general of 34 states and territories to eliminate a $19.99 fee to expedite reviews of abusive or inappropriate posts, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office announced today.
Topix, which state prosecutors said bills itself as a “top ten online newspaper destination,” encourages readers to post comments about news items and other matters of community interest.
Under the settlement, all reports of abuse on the California-based Web site will be reviewed free of charge.
Under the settlement, Topix will attempt to review and remove inappropriate posts within three working days rather than its previous policy of seven to 14 days.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Topix has also removed the “flagging” option for removing abusive reports. Suthers said the flagging option was ineffective and confusing. It required multiple users to flag a post before it was reviewed.
Because of this, numerous posts that consumers had flagged were never reviewed.
“This settlement not only resolves the numerous complaints the states received, but it also heads off the possibility of costly and time-consuming litigation to resolve the problems with Topix’s ‘pay-to-police’ policy,” said Suthers.
Suthers said he appreciated the Palo Alto firm had agreed to work with him and other prosecutors around the country.
Under the agreement, Topix said it will work with law enforcement agencies to combat unlawful activity on its web site and continue to explore new technology for preventing misuse of its site.Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
