New Internet Frontier: You Can Defame Through Your WiFii Name

Defamation by tweet isn't news anymore, but surely a new barrier was broken when the Idaho Supreme Court found potential defamation in the name a family gave to their home wireless network.

Jeffrey and Dona Hall were business owners in Harrison, Idaho. They had numerous disputes with the town's mayor, Wanda Irish, and her husband, Dennis—including instances when they objected to the Irishes' use of surveillance cameras.

Initially the Halls used traditional means to criticize Mayor Irish, such as displaying a poster in Jeffrey Hall's vehicle, reading "MAYOR IRISH LIED!" Then the Halls accused Dennis Irish of stalking Dona Hall. More accusations on social media followed.

But then the accusations shifted to the WiFi network names. First their business WiFi network was renamed "Mayor Wanda Irish Terrorist." Then, "she really is a Terrorist." Then the messages moved to the Halls' home WiFi network, which was changed to the odd name, "dennis and wanda Irish